Extended Thoughts on Louisville's Open Fall Camp Practices

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As quickly as it started, the Louisville football program is in the homestretch with their preseason fall camp. Eight of their 15 allotted practice are already in the books, and the Cardinals have already conducted one closed scrimmaged.

Louisville's first seven practices were all open to the public, with plenty of fans and media descending to the practice fields outside Trager Center to watch the Cards get ready for year three of the Jeff Brohm era.

Open Practice Notebooks: Practice One, Practice Two, Practice Three, Practice Four,Practice Five, Practice Six, Practice Seven

While we here at Louisville Cardinals On SI provided notebooks for each of the seven open practices sessions, we wanted to follow that up with our overall thoughts regarding what we were able to see over the first week and a half of fall camp.

Below are our extended thoughts on every single position during the open practices:

Quarterback

I'm not exactly breaking any news when I say this, but it shouldn't come as a surprise that Miller Moss, like in the spring, was by far and away the best quarterback in the open practices. Jeff Brohm recently praised Moss' poise in the closed scrimmage, and the was something that stood out to me in fall camp as well. He does a phenomenal job of navigating the pocket, avoiding pressure, and making sure he's able to get the ball out to his playmakers. He excell at keeping the offense on schedule, and this showed in camp.

Now, was he perfect? No. There were a couple open practices where Moss didn't have the best outings - particularly with his decision making. But overall, the good far outweighs the bad. His accuracy is still upper tier, and while he might not have the arm strength that Tyler Shough has, he did flash the occasional long ball.

As far as the battle for the backup goes, both Deuce Adams and Brady Allen have a case to be No. 2. Both guys got their fair share of reps with the twos, and even a couple times with the ones.

Based on the open practices, who I think *should* be the backup is Adams. He's got the best arm strength on the team by far, and he has bona fide chunk play ability with his legs. His main snag is with his accuracy, has he did produce his fair share of overthrows. Decision making was touch-and-go at times too.

That's not to say Allen can't be the backup. To his credit, he looked a lot better than he did in the first half of spring ball and before that - although that's more of an indictment of how bad he was previously. He has taken a step forward with his consistency, and the staff really likes him, but there were a few reps where he regressed some and held onto the ball for way too long.

Running Back

Again, not breaking any news here, but the running back group collectively had a really great first half of fall camp. Of course, Isaac Brown was phenomenal in the reps he took, although he didn't get a ton of run overall (not because he's hurt, but I'm just assuming that he doesn't need a ton of reps being that he's the best player on the team).

As much attention that Brown gets, and deservedly so, watch out for Duke Watson this year. Sure, he's also coming off of a stellar true freshman campaign like Brown. But in these open practices, Watson looked lightyears more shifty and explosive than he already was. Brown is still the starter, but I wouldn't be surprised if Watson finished the 2025 season as the leading rusher. He looked that good.

Behind that dynamic duo is some good depth. Keyjuan Brown is a very good third option, putting on display his patience and ability to run between the tackles, and also seemingly has added a gear to his speed.

While we didn't get to see Jamarice Wilder (ankle), I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by how far along Shaun Boykins Jr. came in just a week-and-a half. In the first couple open practices, admittedly, he looked rough. But towards the end of the open sessions, he made tangible progress in terms of both seeking the rushing lane and playing through contact.

Also, another name to watch for the future is walk-on Braxton Jennings. He likely won't get much run this year (if at all), but I loved how shifty in the open field he looked.

Wide Receiver

Between the top-end players at wide receiver and some of the pieces behind them, wide receiver is arguably the most complete position group from top to bottom in terms of depth and talent.

It goes without saying that Chris Bell was by far the best of this group int he open practices. His combination of route running, body control and physicality continues to get better than it already was, and it wouldn't shock me to hear his name called during the 2026 NFL Draft at this rate.

That's not to discount how Caullin Lacy looked. Now that he's fully healthy (knock on wood), he looks primed to make some noise. He already had great burst off the line of scrimmage and fantastic route running close to the line of scrimmage, but his ability to make tough or contested catches did seemingly get better.

As far as that third starting spot, I think Louisville is likely going to rotate this role very often given the options they have. But if I *had* to pick the starter based off of the open practices, I'd go with Antonio Meeks. From the end of the 2024 season to now, he had made a boatload of progress in terms of speed, agility, and actual catching ability.

Of course, expect transfers TreyShun Hurry and Dacari Collins to get plenty of run here too. I'd give Hurry the edge over Collins, as I thought he moved a lot quicker in the open practices, and put on display a great catch radius. Part of that is because Collins is 6-foot-4, and while he did move well for his size, it was certainly a tick behind everyone else. Not to mention, of this group, he had the most drops.

Behind that crop of receivers, I'd expect Jaedon King to be the next man up, considering the quarterbacks and coaches were making a cognizant effort to get him involved, and looked solid doing so. Brock Coffman, Bobby Golden and T.J. McWilliams had some good moments in camp, but largely were quiet.

Tight End

I entered fall camp thinking that this would be a position that was utilized by committee and not one dominated by a singular player. I still think that to an extent, but one player certainly separated himself from the others: Jaleel Skinner.

Whether it was an impressive snag on the sideline or just a routine drag or dig route, Skinner made several plays in every single open practice. He has arguably the highest ceiling at the position considering his blue chip background and raw athleticism, and it seems like he is finally starting to realize it.

I don't want to say that I was disappointed with what I saw from Nate Kurisky, but he was a lot more quiet than I expected him to be. Now, there was one practice where he didn't play at all (not sure why, maybe injury?), but it's worth noting that he wasn't making nearly as much of a presence as Skinner was. He'll still likely be the second guy up, but something to monitor.

Behind those guys, Jacob Stewart had a bit of a slow start to camp, but towards the end of the open sessions, was really starting to get a lot more comfortable. The same can be said for Davon Mitchell, who at one point was taking fullback snaps.

Grant Houser and Dylan Mesman likely won't get a ton of run this season, but these two are slowly getting more comfortable. Walk-on Hamilton Atkins didn't make as much noise as he did in the spring, but he still was mixed in at times. I'd still expect him to get in the mix at fullback as well.

Offensive Line

As far as the offensive side of the ball goes, this is the area that I had the most questions. I came away from the open practices optimistic regarding this group, but bordering on cautiously optimistic.

Obviously, Pete Nygra looked fantastic, we expected that. The second-best lineman in the open sessions, in my opinion, was Lance Robinson. He seems to have that left guard spot on lockdown, and looked like an absoluet bulldozer at times.

As far as the other three spots on the first team offensive line, they were rotated at a breakneck pace at times during the open sessions. That being said, during the final three open practices, the first team offensive line was regularly: Makylan Pounders at left tackle, Rasheed Miller at right guard and Mahamane Moussa at right tackle. If I had to guess who would be the guys to round out the main rotation, I'd go with Carter Guillaume, Jordan Church and Naeer Jackson - although the latter I was slightly disappointed with at times.

This was my main concern with the O-line based on what I saw: the first team unit looked good to great at times, and very much has the ability to be as efficient as they were last season in spite of the turnover. However, there was a significant drop off from the first team to the second team. The pocket collapsed at a much faster rater with the second team unit and beyond, and rushing lanes weren't as plentiful.

Depth on the offensive line was a very mild concern entering fall camp for me, but now, it seems like it's a bigger issue than I expected. If either Nygra or Robinson go down, there could be problems.

Defensive Line

On paper, you'd think that the defensive line would be due for some regressions given that they lost Ashton Gillotte and a handful of other veterans. But if you ask me, therein lies the potential that this unit could actually be better.

I was very pleased from what I saw on the edges in camp. After running with the second stringers in spring ball. Clev Lubin took over as a starter at LEO by practice three or four in the fall, and regularly put on display his insane burst off the line. That's not to say Adonijah Green (who now goes by A.J.) looked bad, he actually put together some very good practices - he just struggles to keep his weight up.

On the other side of the line at the true defensive end spot, Wesley Bailey continued to be a consistent force as it pertains to getting in the backfield, and he could be UofL's most underrated pickup in this past portal cycle. His backup, Justin Beadles, actually looked a lot better than I expected him to be, while Micah Carter came on strong in the final couple open practices.

Louisville might not be as deep on the interior, but they have a good overall two-deep. Now fully healthy (again, knock on wood), Jordan Guerad looks like he is in line for a great final season in college. Something that was a bit of an eyebrow raiser was that, next to Guerad, Denzel Lowry got the bulk of the first team reps instead of Rene Konga. But that's more so because of how Lowry looked, as he put on display some fantastic pocket-collapsing force with regularity. Konga also looked good, don't get me wrong, but Lowry just looked better.

Jerry Lawson is someone who could see some snaps in the middle, although he took some reps on the edge, and didn't make nearly as much of an impact in the open sessions as I expected him to. Someone who started to make some noise in the final couple open practices was true freshman Bailey Abercrombie, so that could be something to monitor. Unfortunately, Selah Brown didn't get much run due to yet another injury (knee I think?), although this one wasn't nearly as serious as his previous Achilles injury.

Linebacker

When it comes to the starting unit, few positions for Louisville have quite the potential that their linebacking corps does.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but Stanquan Clark undoubtedly looked the greatest here. Sure, he didn't get nearly as many snaps as the others since he is coming back from on offseason shoulder injury, but when he was on the practice field, he was flying around making plays - especially when in pass coverage, which is a massive development.

Speaking of pass coverage, another linebacker who got better in this regard was Antonio Watts at STAR. He's already been a standout in several spring balls and fall camps and put together a very good first season as a starter last year, but he's someone who could be in for a big 2025.

Rounding out the starting linebackers in T.J. Quinn, who has led the Cardinals in tackles for back-to-back seasons. His ability to play against the run continues to be something that earns him a starting spot. However, he doesn't seem to have made much progress when it comes to efforts in pass coverage. Sure, there's still time for that, but that's a little disappointing.

The issue with linebacker is that their depth is largely unproven. T.J. Capers got a good amount of run with the first team on reps where Clark was on the sideline, and seems to be primed to make the jump and realize his former five-star potential, but hasn't gotten a lot of in-game reps. Kalib Perry, while he does have experience, barely played at all during the open practices due to a hand injury. Nigel Williams should be the backup at STAR, but was only added to the team a month before fall camp. Trent Carter didn't make as much of an impact as he did in the spring. Caleb Matelau and Cameron White had some good moments, but are true freshmen.

Like with the offensive line, this is a unit that seemingly cannot afford a major injury to one of their starting guys.

Cornerback

Alas, we have the area of the field that had the most questions on the entire team. Sure, this is still the case for me, but I'm tad more optimistic on this unit after watching them in the open practices.

Once again, like in the spring, Rodney Johnson Jr. was the best corner by a country mile, and looks like he could be someone that could be an All-ACC guy thanks to his size and physical nature.

Behind Johnson, there were a few players that seemed to take steps forward. If I had to guess who would start opposite of Johnson, I'd go with Jabari Mack, as he ran with there first team unit the most and made a handful of plays in coverage. After getting reinstated to the team, Tayon Holloway slowly getting back into the swing of things, and will likely be the third corner in nickel sets.

Young guys Antonio Harris and Rae'mon Mosby didn't make as much noise as they did in the spring, but they held their own for the most part. The only corner who I'm actively not very high on is Justin Agu, who in my opinion, didn't look that great this fall.

Now, is there still some concern here? A little. There were several times where the offense was able to take advantage of some less-than-stellar coverage for chunk plays. However, I'm not sure the cornerback spot will be the Achilles heel everyone thinks it will be. For what it's worth, Ron English absolutely loves the depth at corner.

Safety

While English isn't nearly as bullish on the depth at safety that he is with the cornerbacks, I'm the opposite. I think Louisville has a very good three-man rotation here, with some good depth potential.

The biggest star here is FIU transfer JoJo Evans. While it took some time for English to get the reserved Evans to play with a more aggressive and assertive edge to him, now that he's out of his shell, Evans turned that into a great start to fall camp. Not only does he have great closing speed in coverage, he is a very hard tackler.

Louisville's likely starter opposite of Evans will be D'Angelo Hutchinson, who is coming off of a career year as the go-to reserve on the back end. It took some time for him to seems truly comfortable in his new role as a starter, but he was playing much faster towards the end of the open practices.

Someone else to watch out for is Corey Gordon Jr. Sure, he might have ran with the twos in most of fall camp up to this point, but he made about as many plays on the ball as Evans did. I'd expect him to get a fair amount of snaps once the season starts.

Behind that trio, Daeh McCullough looks like he's starting to get more comfortable playing at this level, while Micah Rice laid the absolute hammer a few times in reps with the twos and threes. Someone that I'm a little disappointed they haven't made a bigger impact is Blake Ruffin, although I think he might still be hurt. Not entirely sure there.

That being said, it bares repeating that giving up big chunk plays is still a bit of a work in progress here. I don't think this will be quite as big of an issue as it was last season, but it's not something that has completely gone away either.

Special Teams

Yes, special teams are important too. Fortunately for Louisville it seems like this was a much bigger point of emphasis for them than it has been in the past, as they ran a lot more special teams segments in the open practices than I remeber them doing in the past.

As far as the punting and kicking goes, Louisville is in a good, but maybe not great, spot. Cooper Ranvier has an stranglehold on the starting placekicker spot, as he by far and away had the strongest leg - it's just the the accuracy was touch-and-go at times. Nick Keller will likely be the go-to guy for kickoffs, but Carson Hilbert started to get better towards the end.

At punter, Carter Schwartz will very likely be the starter. I'm hesitant to sharpie him as the starter, because he was a little inconsistent at times. That being said, he looked the best out of all the punters during the open practices. The only issue is that, quite frankly, no other punter actually looked all that good.

As far as punt/kick returners go, the main people up here were Caullin Lacy, Bobby Golden, Antonio Harris, Antonio Meeks and Dacari Collins. I'd venture to guess that Lacy and Golden will be the two main guys here.