Watch: DE Ashton Gillotte and CB Quincy Riley Discuss Returning for Louisville's 2024 Season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With as much talent as the Louisville football program is bringing in through the transfer portal, two of their biggest assets on the defensive side of the ball are returners.

Defensive end Ashton Gillotte announced last month that he would bypass the NFL Draft and return to the Cardinals for the 2024 season, then cornerback Quincy Riley did the same earlier this month.

Over the course of the 2023 season, Gillotte was not only the most impactful defender for Louisville, he was one of the top defensive linemen in all of college football. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound edge rusher collected 14.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, three forced fumbles and 45.0 tackles overall. His sack total led the ACC, and was good for eighth in the FBS and ninth on the single-season sack list in Louisville history.

Gillotte earned First-Team All-ACC honors and was the runner-up in ACC Defensive Player of the Year voting, while also earning Second-Team All-American nods from Walter Camp, USA TODAY, Sports Illustrated and The Athletic.

Ever since making the jump from Middle Tennessee ahead of the 2022 season, Riley has been a crucial component of Louisville's secondary. This season, 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the ACC.

Riley finished the 2023 season with a team-best 11 pass breakups and second on the Cardinals in interceptions with three, tying for the ACC lead with 14 pass defenses. However, while also collecting 49 tackles and 1.5 for loss in the process, he was only voted as an All-ACC honorable mention.

On Tuesday, Gillotte and Riley took time to meet with the media. They discussed their respective decisions to come back, the outlook for the 2024 season, reflected on the past season, and more.

Below is the video from their press conference:

(Photo of Quincy Riley via University of Louisville Athletics)

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