Watch: Steve Ellis, Louisville Corners Talk Start of Spring Practice

The Cardinals kicked off their month-long spring ball sessions earlier this week.

University of Louisville cornerbacks coach Steve Ellis runs a drill during their second practice on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. | Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The first steps in preparation for the 2026 season are now underway. Earlier this week, the Louisville football program officially kicked off spring practice ahead of year four under head coach Jeff Brohm.

Heading into the spring ball, not only do the Cardinals have a plethora of new faces on their playing roster, they have a lot of coaches that are in new roles after having a fairly consistent staff over Brohm's first three years at the helm. UofL lost four position assistant this offseason, including defensive coordinator Ron English, who is taking 2026 off from coaching.

In English's place, Brohm elevated cornerbacks coach Steve Ellis to be one of the Cards' two co-defensive coordinators, with defensive line coach Mark Ivey being the other. As much of a learning experience as it has been for the newcomers, it's been a little bit of the same for Ellis as well

"I'd like to thank Coach Brohm, his wife was Jennifer, and the AD Josh heird for giving me an opportunity to do this, I'm definitely excited about it. But for me, it's just another stepping stone. For me, just keep sawing that wood, continue to get better. Coach Brohm has made a decision, and it's me and Coach Ivey's job to make sure to put the defense in the best situation, to put us in the best situation to make plays, and have those guys succeed. We're excited about the opportunity.

"We did an unbelievable job this spring of going through this defense, breaking it down like we did last year, going the hood of a car and look for all the miscues, change spark plugs, and that's something we have done. We're definitely excited about this thing moving forward."

Following Wednesday's practice, Ellis, plus cornerbacks Santana Wilson, D.J. Waller and Tayon Holloway took time to meet with the media. They discussed the start of spring practice, Ellis' transition to Co-DC, the newcomers at cornerback, and more.

Below are the videos from their press conferences:

Co-Defensive Coordinator Steve Ellis

Cornerbacks Santana Wilson, D.J. Waller and Tayon Holloway

(Photo of Steve Ellis: Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X and @mattmcgavic.bsky.social on Bluesky