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Louisville HC Scott Satterfield on Second Scrimmage, Fall Camp (8/19/22)

Projecting Louisville's Two-Deep Depth Chart Following Fall Camp

With fall camp now in the books, we take a guess as to what the Cardinals' two-deep depth chart will look like for their season opener.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville football's two-week long fall camp is now officially in the books, and their season-opener at Syracuse is just under two weeks away.

With the Cardinals about to be shifting into game-planning mode for the Orange, Louisville Report decided to take another shot at projecting Louisville's two-deep depth chart for the 2022 football season.

Quarterback

  1. Malik Cunningham (6-1, 200, R-Jr)
  2. Evan Conley (6-2, 207, Jr.)

Quick Hit: Obviously, Cunningham is going to be the guy in charge of running the offense after nearly putting up a 20/20 season. The real question is who will be his backup, which hasn't even been decided yet. I'm going with Conley because of the experience in the system he has, but he still wasn't 100 percent in fall camp, so it could go to Brock Domann or walk-on Nathan McElroy.

Running Back

  1. Tiyon Evans (5-11, 210, Jr.)
  2. Jalen Mitchell (5-10, 214, R-So.)

Quick Hit: Louisville's running back room is loaded with talent, to the point where you almost have no wrong answers when it comes to picking a starter. But after a fantastic offseason and fall camp, it seems that Evans is the one in line to take starter's reps. That being said, expect a heavy dose of Mitchell and Trevion Cooley as well.

Wide Receiver (X)

  1. Tyler Hudson (6-2, 197, Jr.)
  2. Jaelin Carter (6-2, 208, Sr.)

Quick Hit: Hudson has breakout potential written all over him. He was an FCS All-American in his last season at Central Arkansas, and has been a difference maker for Louisville all offseason, putting together arguably the best fall camp performance on the offensive side of the ball.

Wide Receiver (Y)

  1. Ahmari Huggins-Bruce (5-10, 163, So.)
  2. Braden Smith (5-10, 185, Sr.)

Quick Hit: While losing a guy like Tyler Harrell was a massive blow, Huggins-Bruce is a speed and RAC threat in his own right as well. Plus, Smith's return to the lineup is vastly understated considering he was arguably the Cardinals' best receiver heading into the 2021 season before suffering a gruesome knee injury early in the season.

Wide Receiver (Z)

  1. Dee Wiggins (6-3, 195, Jr.)
  2. Josh Johnson (5-11, 187, Gr.)

Quick Hit: Wiggins was up and down over the past two seasons at Miami, but has proven in the past that he can make plays, and was one of the top performers in fall camp. It was just hard to grab a lot of headlines and attention with Hudson having arguably the top offensive performance in fall camp. Josh Joshson had flashes of brilliance last season, but got lost in the shuffle in the second half of the year.

Tight End

  1. Dez Melton (6-3, 240, R-So.)
  2. Frances Sherman (6-3, 234, R-So.)

Quick Hit: Time will tell if Louisville will get any tight end not named Marshon Ford more involved in their passing game. But from a blocking perspective, Melton and Sherman both did solid jobs last season.

H-Back

  1. Marshon Ford (6-2, 240, R-Jr.)
  2. Isaac Martin (6-1, 251, R-Sr.)

Quick Hit: One of the most underrated tight ends in FBS football is back yet again. Coming on originally as a walk on, Ford has dominated both in the passing and blocking game. Martin should get some more playing time this season, but is facing some competition from Duane Martin for backup reps..

Left Tackle

  1. Trevor Reid (6-5, 307, Sr.)
  2. Michael Gonzalez (6-4, 309, So.)

Quick Hit: With Adonis Boone making the move to right guard last year, Reid looked really good in a more consistant role. What was a really good surprise here was how good Michael Gonzalez looked as a true freshman. Reid is super athletic, but Gonzalez will see plenty of run.

Left Guard

  1. Caleb Chandler (6-4, 297, R-Sr.)
  2. Luke Kandra (6-4, 314, So.)

Quick Hit: Louisville is already bringing back a fair amount of talent on their offensive line, but getting Chandler back for one final year was a huge boost. You don't get named a First-Team preseason All-American by multiple publications for nothing. The staff also really like the potential from Luke Kandra as well.

Center

  1. Bryan Hudson (6-4, 310, R-Jr.)
  2. Austin Collins (6-3, 283, R-Fr.)

Quick Hit: Hudson did a great job last year on the line bouncing between center and guard as the line's go-to "sixth man," and has looked the part as a starter throughout fall camp. Austin Collins hasn't seen much run since being named a starter in the 2020 finale, but he's made strides in camp.

Right Guard

  1. Adonis Boone (6-5, 303, Sr.)
  2. Joshua Black (6-2, 294, R-So.)

Quick Hit: Boone's transition from left tackle to right guard isn't appreciated enough, and he was honestly one of the more underrated players on the offensive line. Because Louisville will utilize a 7-8 man O-Line rotation, Black probably won't see much action.

Right Tackle

  1. Renato Brown (6-4, 317, R-So.)
  2. Michael Gonzalez (6-4, 309, So.)

Quick Hit: Brown has certainly progressed a lot and did a fair amount of maturing since his freshman year. But like at left tackle, don't be surprised to see Gonzalez take some reps here as well, mainly because Kobe Baynes decides to hit the portal.

Defensive End

  1. Ashton Gillotte (6-2, 265, So.)
  2. Ramon Puryear (6-3, 268, R-So.)

Quick Hit: If Gillotte was able to stay healthy the entire season, he might have been an All-Freshman ACC selection. He was arguably the top true freshman last season with 8.0 TFL's and 4.0 sacks, and could burst onto the scene next year. Puryear was put on scholarship right before the start of the last season, and could be a breakout candidate.

Nose Tackle

  1. Jermayne Lole (6-2, 324, Sr.)
  2. Dezmond Tell (6-1, 296, So.)

Quick Hit: Louisville is much better in the middle of the defensive line than they were this time last year. While he didn't enter fall camp as the starter because of an injury, Lole has slowly gotten more comfortable and could be a high NFL Draft pick next spring. With Tell, he has added massive amounts of good weight, and was one of the top performers in camp.

Defensive End

  1. YaYa Diaby (6-4, 270, Sr.)
  2. Mason Reiger (6-4, 254, So.)

Quick Hit: Diaby is one of many players who have benefitted greatly from the addition of strength coach Ben Sowders. His stat line from last year doesn't jump out, but he was incredibly close to turning pressures into many more sacks and TFL's. Reiger is one of Louisville's most-used walk-ons over the past couple seasons, and he could have a sizable role in 2022.

Outside Linebacker (DOG)

  1. Yasir Abdullah (6-1, 242, Sr.)
  2. Kameron Wilson (6-2, 229, R-Fr.)

Quick Hit: Abdullah was already Louisville's top returning talent on defense, and could be in line for an elite swan song in college. With several high-end talents in the front seven to attract defensive attention, Abdullah could very well produce the one of the best seasons of all time a Louisville defender. Wilson is also making good strides coming off of injury, but could be pushed by Popeye Williams for backup reps.

Middle Linebacker

  1. Monty Montgomery (5-11, 220, R-Sr.)
  2. Dorian Jones (6-0, 236, R-So.)

Quick Hit: Perhaps one of the biggest "what if?'s of the season was what if Montgomery was healthy for the entire year? With all the close losses, you could make the argument that Louisville could have gone 8-4 and not 6-6 in the regular season. He's that good of a playmaker. But while he was down, Jones benefitted immensely from the reps, and will give Louisville options in the middle of the field.

Middle Linebacker

  1. MoMo Sanogo (6-1, 235, R-Sr.)
  2. K.J. Cloyd (6-2, 229, Jr.)

Quick Hit: Losing C.J. Avery was a massive blow the overall defense, but it's hard to do much better in the transfer portal than grabbing an SEC guy with starting experience and similar leadership capabilities. Cloyd has sack potential, as his JUCO film showed, but will need to step it up a bit.

Outside Linebacker (CARD)

  1. Benjamin Perry (6-2, 212, R-Fr.)
  2. Marvin Dallas (6-1, 190, Sr.)

Quick Hit: Louisville has much more depth at CARD than they did earlier in the offseason. Perry has made significant strides since switching positions from safety to outside linebacker, and Dallas developed a reputation as hard hitter to work his way from special teams to carve out a role on defense. Don't be shocked to see Nicario Harper see a lot of time here, either.

Cornerback

  1. Kei'Trel Clark (5-10, 177, Jr.)
  2. Quincy Riley (6-0, 185, Jr.)

Quick Hit: Clark is another player that altered the final win/loss total from last season because of an injury, considering he is the best man-to-man corner on the team and could play himself into a high NFL Draft pick. Riley is a transfer who will see plenty of time in the CB rotation due to the ball skills he showed in fall camp.

Cornerback

  1. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (5-11, 186, So.)
  2. Chandler Jones (5-10, 186, Sr.)

Quick Hit: Speaking of fall camp, Brownlee had one of the top performances in all of camp, regularly displaying his confidence and aggressive nature. Jones might be the more tenured player here, but he hasn't been the same since having a career year in 2019, and got burned a lot last season. Also, look for Trey Franklin to get a lot of reps as well, particularly at nickel.

Free Safety

  1. Kenderick Duncan (6-3, 206, R-Sr.)
  2. Nicario Harper (6-1, 203, Jr.)

Quick Hit: Louisville didn't have as much safety turnover as they did last offseason, and were still able to bolster the position with solid depth. Duncan brings back some solid starting experience, and Harper can play multiple positions within the defense.

Strong Safety

  1. Josh Minkins (6-2, 196, So.)
  2. M.J. Griffin (6-1, 210, So.)

Quick Hit: Louisville has multiple breakout candidates on this roster, and Minkins is one of them. He was forced to spend most of the 2021 season on the sideline due to injury, but really started to find his groove when he came back, and has had a tremendous offseason. Griffin also had a solid career at Temple and does provide experience as well.

(Photo of Louisville Players: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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