Burning Summer Questions for Louisville's Position Groups

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As we head into the first year of the Jeff Brohm era, as with any coaching change, there are a fair amount of questions surrounding the Louisville football program. How will each side of the ball look under the new systems? Will they be able to deliver with the incredible amount of hype being generated?

While these are questions that have to do with the team as a whole, today, we will be taking each of the Cardinals' position groups, and looking at a top question/storyline regarding it as we progress through the summer and into the 2023 season.

Quarterbacks: Can Jack Plummer elevate himself to be one of the elite signal callers in the ACC?

First of all, this question isn't calling Plummer's ability into question. Last season at Cal, he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,095 yards - which was good for No. 22 in the FBS through the regular season - 21 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. Plus in the spring, he was unquestionably better than every other QB on the roster. But in the grand scheme of the ACC, Plummer is a bit of an afterthought. Guys like Drake Maye Jordan Travis, Riley Leonard and Cade Klubnik have been getting most of the national attention this offseason. Given the talent of the aforementioned plus Cal's record last season, plus the fact that Plummer bounced in and out of the starting quarterback spot when he did previously play for Brohm at Purdue, that's not all that surprising. But if Louisville is going to truly have a great season like many people think they can, a lot of that will hinge on Plummer being potentially a top three or five QB in the league.

Running Backs: How will Jeff Brohm's pass-heavy style affect Jawhar Jordan's production?

While the defense stole the show down the stretch of the 2022 season, Jordan became almost as important as anymore, especially with the passing game struggling the way it did. Despite not seeing consistent playing time until the second half of the season, he still was able to rush for 815 yards and four touchdowns, with the yardage mark leading the Cardinals and placing fifth in the ACC. At first glance, the switch to a pass-heavy offensive system would make you think that his overall production will get cut back significantly in 2023, considering Purdue averaged only 121.0 rushing yards per game last season. However, that might not be the case. Devin Mockobee still was able to rush for 968 yards and nine rushing touchdowns last season for Brohm at Purdue, and his work as a pass catcher (32 receptions for 274 yards) almost single-handedly eclipsed the combined production from all five of Louisville's scholarship backs (37 receptions for 236 yards) last season. While Scott Satterfield's outside zone scheme is now in Cincinnati, Jordan actually has a chance to be even more productive this season.

Wide Receivers: Can the position as a whole take a much needed step forward after getting almost completely revamped?

It's no secret that the wide receiver position for Louisville last season was incredibly disappointing in 2022. While some of this had to do with former head coach Satterfield's run-heavy approach and tight end Marshon Ford commanding a lot of attention, Louisville's receivers struggled with creating separation last season. This resulted in Cardinals wideouts combined to produce only 1,906 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and 1,034 of the yards and two of the touchdowns came from Tyler Hudson alone. Brohm saw this, and decided to flip the position on its head bringing in seven new wide receivers. Newcomers Jamari Thrash and Kevin Coleman have All-ACC potential, and returner Ahmari Huggins-Bruce has a chance to thrive in this new system, as does everyone else in the WR room. They just need to collectively take step as it pertains to not only learning the new system, but building chemistry with Plummer, which they admittedly said was a work in progress during the spring. Louisville has the potential to have one of the most prolific wide receivers rooms in the ACC, they just have to put it all together.

Tight Ends: Will *anyone* at this position be a significant regular contributor in the passing game?

With the switch to Brohm's offensive system comes a completely different role for the tight ends. Instead of being primarily blockers like they were under Satterfield, this position plays an underrated role in the overall success of the passing game. The problem? The six tight ends on the roster quite literally have almost zero experience/production in the passing game. The combined career totals of these six players is just six receptions for 94 yards and a single touchdown. Walk-on Josh Lifson looked good in the spring, but has two career receptions for 37 yards. Jamari Johnson could have a bright future, but is a true freshman. Joey Gatewood is a converted QB with zero in-game receiving reps. Brohm's offenses have always had their most success when they have a go-to tight end in the passing game, and there simply isn't one - at least right now.

Offensive Line: Who winds up cracking the main rotation, especially at tackle, after multiple quality post-spring additions?

Last season, the offensive line was just average, if not slightly disappointing, allowing 2.08 sacks and 5.77 tackles for loss per game. The latter ranked 74th in FBS, while the former was 64th out of 130 FBS teams. During the spring, it was obvious that the line needed some improvements during the second portal window, and that's exactly what Louisville did. The Cardinals brought in Eric Miller, Willie Tyler, Trevonte Sylvester, Lance Robinson and Vincent Lumia after spring ball. All five of these players have played tackle in some form at their previous stops, so the competition at the bookends of the line is going to be something interesting to monitor, especially with Renato Brown still in the mix. The interior of the line is a little more set in stone, with John Paul Flores, Bryan Hudson and Michael Gonzalez likely starting. But even there, guys like Madden Sanker or Austin Collins could make a push for regular playing time. The offensive line is in a much better start now than it was before spring started, and who winds up starting game against Georgia Tech - or even becomes a go-to reserve - will be something to watch.

Defensive Line: Can Jermayne Lole get healthy and stay healthy?

Jermayne Lole has always had NFL-caliber talent and ability. During the Arizona State's COVID-shortened 2020 season, he logged 24 tackles, 5.0 for loss and 1.5 sacks in just four games, and was tabbed as the No. 2 interior defensive lineman in college football by Pro Football Focus. However, he can't seem to stay healthy. He had to miss the entire 2021 season due to a fall camp triceps injury while at Arizona State, played in only one game last season with the Cardinals after suffering a season-ending elbow injury in the opener, and still appeared to be dealing with an injury in spring ball. If he can both stay healthy and still remain the game-wrecker that he was as a Sun Devil, that has a chance to drastically improves what Louisville can accomplish defensively. Even with the vast amount of depth that the Cardinals have on the defensive line.

Linebackers: Could Stanquan Clark and T.J. Capers earn significant roles at inside linebacker as true freshmen?

Louisville has seen several players at this position that have depart the program over the offseason in one form or another. While Keith Brown and T.J. Quinn will be a solid one-two starting tandem, inside linebacker still has does not have much collective experience or depth. With that being said, the position also has two of the most promising true freshman on the roster. Stanquan Clark arguably had the best spring out of all the early enrollee freshmen, and for the most part, he looked incredibly comfortable and was very consistent with open field tackling. T.J. Capers might have a longer path to playing time since he is rehabbing a knee injury and only just arrived on campus, but he is one of the top signees in program history for a good reason. Because of the relative depth issues in the middle of the defense, Clark and Capers could very well be regular fixtures of the ILB rotation by season's end.

Cornerbacks: Can Jarvis Brownlee Jr. become more consistent in pass coverage?

Statistically speaking, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. was Louisville's best corner last season. His 66 total tackles was third on the team and topped out the secondary, while also adding 2.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a team-best 12 pass breakups. The latter tied for second in the ACC, with his 14 overall pass defenses also tying for second in the league. However, this also came with a fair amount of lapses in coverage, as his 587 yards allowed as the closest defender led the team, per Pro Football Focus. This past spring, Brownlee appeared to be taking meaningful strides in this department. He regularly demonstrated his physical and irritating nature to opposing wideouts, while also doing better when it came to not losing them down the field in coverage. He just needs to do this on game days, as well.

Safeties: How often will the players at STAR cycle in with the true safety spot?

Safety is in a good spot for Louisville right now. M.J. Griffin played a key role in the amount of big plays surrendered by the Cardinals when he was inserted into the starting rotation, Josh Minkins was finally able to play a full season and display his talents, while transfers Devin Neal and Cam'Ron Kelly are quality backups. On top of that, the STAR position in the new 4-2-5 system is a linebacker/safety hybrid. Two players here, Benjamin Perry and Antonio Watts, are converted safeties and both looked really good in the spring. If Louisville's defense is to keep up with their offense, cycling players in and out on the back end could warrant those two players seeing time at their original positions. However, we likely won't start seeing some of these wrinkles in the scheme until later in the season.

(Photo of L&N Stadium: Jeff Faughender - Courier Journal and USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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