Increased Physicality Helping Expand Louisville's Capabilities at Running Back

The Cardinals' extremely physical one-two punch at running back is helping them expand not only what they're capable of when running the ball, but on offense overall.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In year one of the Jeff Brohm era last season, the offensive side of the ball for Louisville football program was anchored by a productive ground game and a spectacular one-two punch at running back.

Despite being significantly hampered by a hamstring injury in the second half of the season, Jawhar Jordan was still able to rush for 1,128 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. Isaac Guerendo stepped up and had a monster second half of the season, finishing with 810 rushing yards and 11 scores on the ground. The duo combined for 2,418 yards and 25 touchdowns from scrimmage, and helped the Cardinals finish with the No. 37 rushing attack in the FBS.

If there was any sort of knock against this duo, it's that there was probably some left to be desired in the physicality department. That's not to say that Jordan or Guerendo lacked toughness, it's just that both of their respective games were more so predicated on speed and elusiveness.

For example, Jordan is not the biggest back in the world, measuring 5-foot-9 and 193-pounds at the NFL Combine. While Guerendo is a more well rounded back in terms of speed vs. power, it was clear at the combine when the 6-foot, 221-pound back ran a 4.33 40-Yard Dash that his game is more so tilted towards speed.

As a result, there were some games last season where teams were able to load the box, bottle the run, and limit what Louisville's offense was able to do. NC State held Louisville to just 20 rushing yards, Florida State allowed only 77 rushing yards in the ACC Championship Game, and Pitt gave up just 80 rushing yards. Of Louisville's four-lowest single-game rushing totals last season, three of them were losses.

"NC State played us really tough last year. Defensively, they crowded the line of scrimmage, and we had a tough time really gaining some yards," running backs coach Chris Barclay said. "There were a couple of teams that tried to do that, so I want to make sure that we have the proper pieces in place, so that we have answers for those scenarios."

With this in mind, Louisville seemed to target bigger, more physical running backs in the transfer portal to replace Jordan and Guerendo, who are now working towards the NFL Draft later this month. What the Cardinals wound up getting was an incredibly bruising one-two punch at running back.

First, Louisville picked up a commitment from Donald Chaney Jr. from Miami. In 11 games and two starts, the 5-foot-11, 220-pound utilized his gritty north-south rushing approach to run for 478 yards and two touchdowns last season for the Canes. He finished third on the team in rushing yards, but was only 101 yards behind the leader, Mark Fletcher Jr.

Then, the Cardinals scored a massive win out on the recruiting trail by landing Peny Boone from Toledo. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound power back ran for 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns in 13 games and 10 starts last season, taking home 2023 MAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. Nicknamed the "Baby Bus" after NFL Hall-of-Famer Jerome Bettis, you know exactly what you'e getting: a running back who lives to both take and deliver punishment.

Considering how effective Louisville was at running the ball last season, this will in turn will lead to more teams crowding the line of scrimmage in 2024. Barclay believes that the presumptive RB1 and RB2 duo of Boone and Chaney is exactly what the Cardinals need to counter such game plans from opponents.

"Considering how we played last year, they might want to pack the box a little bit more," he said. "In those situations, I feel like you've got some backs there - you mentioned Peny and Don, so bigger and more physical backs - those games where they're gonna be loading the box, we're gonna need some physicality. We're gonna have to create our own space at times.

"Not that smaller backs can't do that, it's just when you have a bigger, more physical back, in those scenarios, you can create your own room more frequently as opposed to trying to find the space necessarily. I can see definitely us being prepared for those types of situations that will come up. Inevitably, they'll come up."

Not only does the running back duo of Boone and Chaney add an aspect of physicality to the position, they also gives Louisville multiple options at running back: both from a depth and a scheme perspective.

Maurice Turner, one of just two returning running backs for Louisville, once ran step-for-step with NFL superstar Tyreek Hill in a foot race while in high school, and that speed has still present throughout spring ball. The other returner, Keyjuan Brown, has arguably the best ball carrier vision on the team, and he seems to have increased his overall speed during spring ball.

On top of that, Louisville adds two freshman running backs in Isaac Brown and Duke Watson. Brown is already on campus as an early enrollee, and has been making case early in spring practice that he should see some playing time during his freshman season.

Put it all together, and Louisville's running back room acts almost like a Swiss Army Knife. No matter the down, distance or defensive front, the Cardinals seem to have a back for every situation.

"Oh man, how can I explain anything?" Chaney said when asked about the mix of traits that Louisville's running back room has. "I'm a guy that likes compete, so when I got guys around me- I mean, you've heard it before. You got guys over here that's good, guys, you got guys over here that's good. Bring it together, everybody just becomes better, and it's all better for the team."

Furthermore, the various additions and improvements that Louisville has made on the rest of their offense will also help the running backs and their efforts to move the ball. Texas Tech transfer quarterback Tyler Shough has been extremely impressive in the first half of spring ball. The Cardinals' portal pickups at both wide receiver and tight end give them many more options in the passing game than they did last season. Even their offensive line is deeper and beefier.

Having a passing game that should more closely resemble what head coach Jeff Brohm wants to accomplish on offense will force defenses to take that into account. Which, in turn, will give the running backs that much more space to work with.

"Coach's philosophy is he wants to push it downfield," Barclay said. "Knowing that, I would think that some people will honor that. Try to space the box, spread out and try to cover the receivers. A lot of passing game will be coming at you. I think that we can see that.

"Now early on, I think that there'll be kind of a wait and see approach. Based on how we played in 2023, we were a little bit more run heavy, so I think that there'll be a little bit of indecision early on for some of our opponents. Just to see how we kind of operate, because we have a lot of new pieces, and see how those new pieces mesh. But I anticipate we'll get some light boxes, and be able to have some room to operate."

(Photo of Peny Boone: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA)

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