Notes and Observations from Louisville's Second Open Fall Camp Practice

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fall camp is in full swing for the Louisville football program. The Cardinals are kicking off their first week of their two-week long fall camp, with two sessions already in the books.

Their second practice, which took place on Wednesday, was the second of eight practices that were open to both the fans and media. Like we were for practice No. 1, Louisville Report was there for it all to watch the second open practice of spring ball.

Below is our notebook of the more notable happenings that transpired during the afternoon:

Before starting on individual position drills, Louisville spent a fair amount of time working on special teams. Not so much kicking, but more so perfecting the kickoff alignments and blocking. Assistant coach Mark Ivey was particularly vocal during this time.
I tried to watch the defensive positions during drills, but because of the arrangement and how far away they were from the viewing area, I don't have a ton of takeaways here. What I *was* able to takeaway was that defensive end Popeye Williams looked very explosive, linebackers T.J. Quinn and Jaylin Alderman have good footworks and overall mobility, and linebacker Stanquan Clark looks like he will be a thumper in year one.
In each of the first couple days of practice, there has been a roughly 5-10 minute segment where quarterbacks throw deep balls to receivers who are completely unguarded. It seems that they are trying to get the wide receiver room used to tracking long shots through the air. Could that mean a lot of deep throws during the season? We shall see.
The first seven-on-seven period really set the tone for the entire practice. Cornerback Quincy Riley had two pass breakups almost immediately during the period, and cornerback Trey Franklin snagged an interception off of Brady Allen. Wide receiver Jamari Thrash had a couple impressive catches that displayed his well above average catch radius, but the defense, especially the secondary, set the tone early.
The offense won the 11-on-11 periods during the first day of fall camp, but during the first period of the second day, the defense dominated. Both the front seven and the secondary made play after play during the first 11-on-11, which lasted roughly half an hour. Cornerback Derrick Edwards III, STAR Antonio Watts and walk-on corner Daniel Martens all logged interceptions, STAR Ben Perry forced a fumble in the flats after a catch, nose tackle Dezmond Tell and Quinn both logged tackles for loss, defensive tackle Selah Brown notched a sack, and linebacker Keith Brown recovered a fumble (not sure who forced it).
If there was anything that was noteworthy from an offensive standpoint during this first 11-on-11, it was that Maurice Turner continued to have a good start to camp. He got a lot of work catching the ball out of the backfield, and did a good job at finding holes/space after the catch.
One brief depth chart note from this period. Bryan Hudson, Renato Brown and John Paul Flores were unsurprisingly running with the first team offensive line. But of note, early on, Michael Gonzalez stayed at his traditional left tackle spot, while Joshua Black ran some with the first team at right guard. A great development in terms of OL depth if this keeps up.
During the second seven-on-seven period, it seemed that Louisville was starting to work in tight end Joey Gatewood to the passing game. He had a nice catch in the period where he found the hole in the zone, but also had a drop and near-drop during the second 11-on-11s. Some work is still needed here, but it's a start.
The second 11-on-11 period was immediately kicked off by a pass breakup by Riley on Thrash. A couple plays later, Thrash responded with a very impressive over-the-shoulder catch against Riley, in which Riley was committing very clear pass interference.
The offense did look much better during the second 11-on-11, in particular the running backs. Jawhar Jordan is still very fast and agile, and on a handful of times showed his improved vision around the line of scrimmage. Speaking of vision, true freshman Keyjuan Brown might have the best patience and anticipation amongst the running backs. He could be a force later down the line if he can develop an extra gear in the open field.
That being said, the defense still won this 11-on-11 period. Defensive end Adonijah Green, despite very clearly needing to add more weight, used an impressive swim move to get past the tackle a couple times for some pressure. Perry had a play where shot the gap for an almost immediate sack. Defensive tackle Tawfiq Thomas used his pure size and raw power to collapse the middle of the line on a couple plays.
If wide receiver Elijah Downing was the standout walk-on during the spring, so far in the fall, it has been running back Mario Agyen. He has received a lot of reps over the first two days of camp, and could be this season's Maurice Burkley.

(Photo via University of Louisville Athletics)

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