Jeff Brohm 'Excited' to Kick Off New Era of Louisville Football
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At long last, college football has finally returned. Another torturously long offseason is in the books, and Louisville is once again preparing to return to the gridiron.
The Cardinals' matchup against Georgia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Classic down in Atlanta, Ga. is more than just the start of the a new season. With Jeff Brohm taking over as the head coach following Scott Satterfield's departure for Cincinnati, it's also the start of brand new era for the program.
With game week finally here, and the Cardinals fully transitioned from offseason preparation to game preparation, Brohm can't wait to get things underway.
"We're excited to get things kicked off this Friday evening, and I'm sure everyone's excited to get the college football season started," he said. "Our guys have worked hard, put in a lot of work and now you have to go put it into action, and trust the preparation that you had and go out there and perform. You got to come through on game day and pass the test. Like every team, you're excited to get started, and we are, and you'll see what you're made of. Each week will be a weekly test to see what you can do and how you can win a football game, but I know we're excited to get things kicked off down in Atlanta."
While Brohm is entering his first year with Louisville, he's no rookie when it comes to season-openers. He's entering his tenth season as a head coach - three at Western Kentucky and six at Purdue - and carries a mark of 5-4 in the first game of season: 3-0 while with the Hilltoppers and 2-4 with the Boilermakers.
However, this season-opener carries a little more weight for Brohm than the others have. As a Louisville native and UofL alum who also has his jersey number in the Cardinals' Ring of Honor, he feels the pressure to perform at a high level for his alma mater, while also expressing a desire to try and take them to new heights.
"I mean, without question, my nerves will be going," Brohm said. "You want to do well, you want to try to win the football game, please a lot of people, and you want to get off to a good start. That’s always going to be the goal. You have to go back and go through things and make sure you’re as ready as you can be. But then you’ve just got to go out there and play and coach. Be positive with your players, build their confidence, and help them achieve their best."
There's also the added pressure of opening up the season not only with a conference foe, but doing so away from your home stadium. While it's commonplace for most college football programs to open up the season with non-conference home game, Louisville is doing the exact opposite.
Right out of the gates, the Cardinals will be playing a game that has a direct impact on their potential to be a dark horse ACC title contender. Plus, while this is technically a neutral site matchup, Georgia Tech's campus sits just two miles north of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. Yellow Jackets fans are sure to be in abundance.
"It’s very important," Brohm said. "Every conference game matters, and every game matters really, but you have to be prepared to go on the road, always. You have to be able to overcome things along the way.
"This will be the first time for a lot of guys playing together, so you have to keep your focus, you have to trust your confidence, and trust your preparation. You have to be confident when you take the field, and you have to go out there and execute. ... Game one, you hope that you’re able to adjust and adapt along the way, whether things are going good or bad, and that’s what we’re going to have to prove."
As Brohm mentioned, the matchup with the Yellow Jackets will be the first game in a Louisville uniform for a lot of players. This offseason, the Cardinals added 40 scholarship newcomers: 24 Division I transfers and 16 true freshman. While not every one of these new players will take the field against Georgia Tech, a large number of them will.
Even with the amount of new faces with the program, Brohm has a goof grasp of where his football currently is at this point in time.
"I think we know our football team now," he said. "We've been together for a long time. Yes, there were new faces that we added this summer, but we've had a chance to be with them, basically, since sometime in the summer and throughout fall camp. You know what? You’ve got to go out and play. You have to have your starters ready, your backups ready, you’ve got to be able to play as many guys as you can that prove that they're ready to get on the field, and you have to go let them play."
Now, all it comes down to is preparing for the team directly in front of them. Georgia Tech is also entering the matchup with a new head coach in Brent Key after firing Geoff Collins one month into last season. While the Jackets ended that season at 5-7, they proved that they can be a formidable opponent.
After Collins was canned following a 1-3 start, Key took over as the interim head coach. He then proceeded to guide them to a 4-4 mark as the interim, which included a stunning road win over Pitt in his first game, and a top-25 victory against North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Key was elevated to permanent head coach soon after.
"I think Georgia Tech will be hungry, will be well prepared," Brohm said. "Coach Key played at Georgia Tech, so he's going to take a lot of pride in preparing this team. They made improvements while he was the head coach, had a Top 25 win along the way, and without question, they're going to be hungry. Normally the hungriest team has a chance to win the football game."
Kickoff between the Cardinals and Yellow Jackets is set for Friday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report
You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter
