Five Questions Heading Into Louisville's 2022 Spring Practice
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It seems like only yesterday that the Louisville football program was walking off the field for the final time of the 2021 season after falling to Air Force in the First Responder Bowl.
But as quickly as that season ended, preparation for a new season is now beginning. The Cardinals are set to begin spring practice on Monday, Feb. 28, their first of of fifteen spring practice sessions of the 2022 offseason.
Louisville is coming off of a disappointing 6-7 campaign, including the loss to Air Force. By definition, it was an improvement over their 4-7 season the year before, but it was also one that had real potential for an eight- or nine-win season.
Since that season ended, it has been another active offseason for the program. Three new assistant coaches have joined the fold, with head coach Scott Satterfield also bringing in a new strength coach and director of player development. The Cardinals also signed an underrated Class of 2022, and have done a phenomenal job in the transfer portal.
Heading into Satterfield's fourth season as the head coach, there is no shortage of storylines. Here are our five biggest questions surrounding the Louisville football program heading into the start of spring practice:
Can Louisville improve their fourth quarter woes?
The defining storyline of Louisville's 2020 season was, unquestionably, their atrocious turnover margin. This past season, it was their inability to close out games in the fourth quarter.
This was most noticeable during the middle of the season, where the Cardinals had a 1-4 stretch. This included losing to Wake Forest on a last second field goal, a tremendous collapse to Virginia and a failed goal line sequence against Clemson.
The numbers don't lie, either. In the regular season, Louisville had a scoring margin of 37 in the first quarter, 28 in the second, 25 in the third, and -21 in the fourth. In their six loses, the fourth quarter scoring margin was -32.
Unlike the issues with turnovers in 2020, there are a lot of factors at play here as to why Louisville is struggling. The main ones that come to mind are their third down conversion percentage (40.0 percent - 63rd in FBS) and their red zone defense (89.8 percent - 110th in FBS).
Louisville has started to address some of these concerns in the offseason. By bringing in both offensive coordinator Lance Taylor and co-defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff, it gives the Cardinals and additional set of eyes and thought process as to who they should operate in certain situations.
Who will win the battle for backup quarterback?
When most programs have some sort of quarterback controversy, it usually involves the starting position. That is not the case at Louisville, as Malik Cunningham has that title on lock after nearly accomplishing a 20/20 season.
No, the quarterback battle to monitor here will be who will get the backup reps. Evan Conley has been Louisville's back up since the 2019 season, but didn't look all that great in the times he had to see the field in 2021. In fact, against Wake Forest and Clemson, when he had to briefly take over for an injured Cunningham, the offensive flow and momentum came to a complete stop.
Plus, Conley had to undergo surgery not long after the end of the regular season, and will be forced to miss spring ball. What that means now is that JUCO transfer Brock Domann and true freshman Khalib Johnson will be the ones battling in spring ball for the backups reps.
Domann has a bit more experience, but the staff is very high on Johnson's abilities. This conversation might be a moot point for this season, but it has serious implications for the 2023 season. Don't count out walk-ons like Tyler Jensen and Nate McElroy, either.
In a loaded running room, which one will break away from the pack?
Satterfield won't be short on options at running back next season. Louisville sports not one, but four viable candidates to start at running back next season.
First we'll start with the returners. Jalen Mitchell led the running back room in both yards and touchdowns, but Trevion Cooley showed on multiple occasions that he has very real potential to be a star. Also Jawhar Jordan deserves to be thrown into the mix as well with a fantastic breakdown game in the bowl.
But the most enticing option for the Cardinals right now is Tennessee transfer Tiyon Evans. The former SEC product is a fantastic mix of power and speed, and was the Volunteers' leading rusher prior to suffering an ankle injury.
With the amount of talent oozing out of the running back room, it's hard to imagine that Louisville doesn't once again utilize a running back by committee. But someone has to take the lion's share of the reps, and that role seems to be wide open.
Can the secondary get back to their 2020 form with a lot of new faces?
Just two years ago, Louisville had a surprisingly good secondary. As part of a 2020 defense that allowed only 26.6 points per games, the Cardinals had the 17th-best passing defense at 189.2 yards per game.
But last offseason, the secondary had a lot of turnover, as they lost six defensive backs and three regular starter, which was the most out of any position group that cycle - and it showed.
The secondary took a tremendous step backwards in 2021, allowing an average of 245.6 passing yards per game, which was 95th in FBS. Overall defensive metrics were down from last year, too, as the Cards ranked 84th in total defense at 403.3 yards per game.
This time around, Louisville didn't lose as much talent, but they are still welcoming in a lot of new faces. Three defensive backs left - Qwynnterrio Colle, Greedy Vance and Kani Walker - and six are joining the fold.
Fortunately, Louisville has veterans like star corner Kei'Trel Clark, Kenderick Duncan and Chandler Jones coming back to help guide the newcomers through this offseason. Whether or not that translates into a bounce back year remains to be seen.
Will Louisville be able to get more pressure from their defensive line?
It's hard not to get excited out about the returning playmakers in Louisville's front seven. Yasir Abdullah has First Team All-ACC potential, Monty Montgomery is back from injury, and MoMo Sanogo seems like the perfect replacement for C.J. Avery.
The only problem is that these are all guys in the linebacking corps, and Louisville got minimal production out of their defensive line. Overall sack and tackle for loss numbers went up, which is a plus, but almost none of that came from the defensive line.
Just listen to this stat: out of Louisville's 87.5 tackles for loss and 37.0 sacks, only 27.5 and 15.5, respectively, came from the defensive line. That's only 31.4 and 41.9 percent. The nose tackle spot alone only tallied 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks - which is borderline unacceptable.
The line does bring back guys like YaYa Diaby and Ashton Gillotte, while also bringing in studs like Selah Brown and Popeye Williams, so there is potential. But if this defense is going to make any meaningful strides whatsoever when it comes to causing disruption in the backfield, the defensive line has to step up.
(Photo of Trevion Cooley: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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