Jarvis Brownlee Jr. 'Loving' Louisville, Making Strides in Fall Camp
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Over the course of the offseason, the Louisville football program hit the transfer portal hard and heavy in order to fill a handful of holes created by normal player attrition. Several of these transfers, such as wide receiver Tyler Hudson, running back Tiyon Hudson and nose tackle Jermayne Lole have been having standout performances in fall camp, and expect to play a large role in the upcoming 2022 season.
Another transfer who has been battling throughout camp, and one who could play a crucial role to Louisville's success on the defensive side of the ball, is cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. He's one of a handful of transfers in the secondary for the Cardinals, and his impact in camp has been felt from the start.
"Brownlee has had a tremendous camp so far," head coach Scott Satterfield said last week. "He brings a great deal of confidence. He's just a very aggressive corner. We knew that coming in, but he's really shown that but he's a great teammate. He brings a great attitude, and we love having him around."
Heading into his fourth year in college, the 5-foot-11, 186-pound corner brings a lot of experience to the Louisville defense. Playing in all 12 games with 11 starts for the Seminoles, Brownlee was tied for second on the team in interceptions with two, and was second in the secondary in tackles with 51 - both behind First Team All-ACC safety Jammie Robinson. He also tallied three pass breakups, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
It took a day for him to get over initial jitters in fall camp, but he quickly settled in thanks to the relationship he has with the coaching staff, as well as some prior connections with his teammates. Most notably, he and outside linebacker Yasir Abdullah were high school teammates at Miami Gardens (Fla.) Carol City.
"The first day, to go out there and practice, I was a little nervous knowing that I'm going to a new facility. Everything is new around me," Brownlee said. "But after that first day, man, I was just comfortable and was loving it. I'm happy. It was easy to me to transfer, knowing that I got guys here that I already knew and have great bonds with the coaches. I felt like it wasn't a tough thing to do or a tough stage to go through."
Even with the experience that he bring to the table for the Louisville secondary, especially considering his is coming from another ACC school, Brownlee has been completely open to input from returning veterans on the Cardinals' defense. He has the ability to become a leader for Louisville, and he has been consulting multiple players around him at all levels of the defense, particularly All-ACC corner Kei'Trel Clark.
"I still ask questions about my technique," Brownlee said. "That I can get better at playing off coverage, my eye discipline, just learning new things from a guy that I know is a great cat. He's a great kid, great on the field.
"Just learning from these guys, asking them questions, getting the help that I need or getting the answers I need to develop my game, and knowing I'm developing their game as well. I feel like it's been great."
Louisville is coming off of a season where the secondary was not a strength of theirs, ranking 95th in FBS after allowing 245.6 passing yards per game. That being said, the Cards do return veterans like Clark and safety Kenderick Duncan, while also bringing in impact transfers like Brownlee, corner Quincy Riley, as well as safeties Nicario Harper and M.J. Griffin.
Brownlee believes that with the guys that Louisville currently sports in the secondary, they can make some noise in the ACC. Especially considering many of the players, and the secondary as a whole, have a chip on their shoulder.
"I've been doubted, and some of these players that's in the secondary have been doubted their whole life," he said. "I think it's just time that we all came together, and now it's time to show the world what we really can do, and what this secondary can do.
"No lie, to be honest, I really believe in this secondary right now. From what I've been seeing, if we all just put this together, and come down to the communication part, this thing is going to go far and we're going to have a hell of a season. As long as we hold the back end up."
Louisville will begin the 2022 season when they travel to upstate New York to face Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 3.
(Photo of Jarvis Brownlee Jr. via University of Louisville Athletics)
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