Dwayne Ledford Impressed By Effort From Georgia Tech Defense
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On paper, it seems that Louisville's offense might be due for a bit of a break this upcoming weekend. After dealing with Miami & Pitt in back-to-back weeks, two of the better defenses in the Atlantic Coast Conference, now the Cardinals are preparing for a bout with Georgia Tech down in Atlanta.
Through three games, the Yellow Jackets are averaging 441.3 yards per game allowed, a mark that is good for third-worst in the ACC behind NC State & Wake Forest.
This is not, however, due to a lack of trying. In fact when offensive coordinator Dwayne Ledford fired up the film in preparation for Georgia Tech, it was one of the very first things he noticed.
"The thing I always try to look at when I watch a defense is how well do they run to the football and how much effort are they playing with," he said Monday. "That's something I think you can see from this group when you watch the film. They're playing very good defense from the effort standpoint and playing hard."
One reason for the Yellow Jackets' slow defensive start is that they have been decimated by injuries. Projected starting defensive tackle TK Chimedza is out with a season-ending injury, and their top cornerback Tre Swilling has been in a boot all season. Defensive ends Antonneous Clayton & Curtis Ryans have also missed a pair of games, although Clayton has since returned.
While missing several key defensive pieces that hasn't stopped them from giving every ounce of effort. Of course as both the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach, Ledford was particularly complimentary of Georgia Tech's front seven.
"No. 6 their mike linebacker (David Curry), he's a guy that plays with a high motor. He's all over the field going sideline-to-sideline," he said. "Both of their defensive ends No. 42 (Jordan Domineck) and No. 32 (Sylvain Yondjouen) do a solid job of trying to keep everything inside as far as trying to collapse the pocket. Those two guys on the inside (Ja'Quon) Griffin & (Djimon) Brooks, they're stout at the point of attack."
They might be missing their top piece in the secondary, but Tech still has a respectable safety tandem. Juahyeh Thomas & Tariq Carpenter are both hard hitting safeties who do an excellent job tackling, and quarterback Malik Cunningham will have to keep tabs on them if they creep up into the box.
Overall, Ledford believes the Yellow Jackets have good speed and length, and his guys are excited to go up against them.
Kickoff is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.
(Photo of Djimon Brooks, Sean Tucker, Jordan Domineck: Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports)
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