T.J. Quinn's Increased Confidence Elevating His Impact for Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At this point in time, it's well documented how much production that the Louisville football program lost from their linebacker position. Impact starters Yasir Abdullah, Monty Montgomery and MoMo Sanogo are moving on, as well as key reserves Dorian Jones and K.J Cloyd, with the Cardinals losing a combined 271 tackles, 41.5 tackles for loss and 23.0 sacks as a result.

That being said, over the course of the offseason, and in particular fall camp, the linebacking corps has been making steady improvements ahead of the upcoming 2023 season. One of the biggest catalysts behind this development has been the increase in play and performance from inside linebacker T.J. Quinn, which stems from a dramatic increase in confidence.

"TJ had, I think, a really good spring as far as where he started at, and then where he ended up in that spring football game," linebackers coach Mark Ivey said. "That spring football game kind of opened my eyes to say, ‘Alright, this guy can be a guy that we can count on to win on Saturday afternoon, the championship game, whatever it happens to be.’ I think that gave him a little bit of confidence."

The 6-foot-0, 225-pound inside 'backer played in all 13 games for Louisville last season, but had a minimal role/impact on the defense. He logged 18 total tackles, half a tackle for loss against James Madison, and one quarterback hurry vs. Wake Forest in just 54 defensive snaps played.

But like Ivey alluded, Quinn took a noticeable step forward in the spring, and capped off spring ball by being the defensive MVP in the spring game. There, he logged a game-high eight tackles and also snagged one of the three interceptions by the defense in the exhibition.

With so many impactful linebackers moving one, Quinn says he fully embraced the "next man up" mentality. He also leaned a lot on those departing linebackers, in preparation for when his number would eventually get called.

"I've always believed in that next man up mentality," Quinn said. "Last year was kind of like that, and I learned from the boys that used to be here."

Once Louisville transitioned to the summer, Quinn put an emphasis on fine tuning the smaller details of his game, such as improving reaction and his overall burst. In turn, that only further increased his confidence level.

"Over the summer, you see things and you talk to guys about, 'Hey, we need to work on this. We need to work on being more explosive. Being able to see things and react quicker,' and that's going come through on film," Ivey said. "He's done a good job of doing that, and those little things will help anybody, including him, gain confidence."

With Louisville now in the thick of fall camp, both the physical and mental improvements from Quinn have been abundantly clear. Over the first week-and-a-half of the Cardinals' preseason, where he has gotten the majority of the first team reps at inside linebacker, he has made numerous plays on daily basis. Whether that's around the line of scrimmage playing against the run or dropping back into pass coverage, his impact is being felt, usually in the form of a tackle for loss or pass breakup.

"He's one of, if not our biggest linebacker," Ivey said. "He shows speed, burst and acceleration. If you got size, if you got speed and burst, and he's definitely a smart young man, then all you got to do is be confident in what you're doing. That comes through knowing what it is, having it memorized, locked in, and then you can play fast. Because if he can play fast, he's a big body that can strike. Whether that's in space in coverage, or whether that's in the box getting over the top of the pulling guard.

"Either way, he's a physical, physical person. His confidence is the one thing that he has improved vastly on, and needs to continue to do so. I think he'll be a great player for us."

What has made Quinn's improvement even more impressive is that Louisville is undergoing a scheme change of top of it. Out with the old 3-4 base system, and in with the 4-2-5, a system where the role of the middle linebacker is more so read-and-react instead of attack.

Quinn credits Ivey for helping him in the transition to the new scheme, and believes both he and the rest of the unit are in a good spot.

"I feel like we're really comfortable," he said. "Coach Ivey had put us in the right position to be able to make plays. As long as we take what we learned in the meeting room and apply it on the field, I feel like we're good."

On top of all this, Quinn has motivation to perform at a high level right out of the gate. Louisville will kick off their 2023 season against Georgia Tech as part of the Aflac Kickoff Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which is roughly three-and-a-half hour away from his hometown of Valdosta, Ga.

"It's always good to go back home, because a lot of my family can come watch to see me play," he said. "Being up here a lot of the time, they can't come up here. Being back home and having that at-home feeling, it just makes me want to play better."

(Photo of T.J Quinn via University of Louisville Athletics)

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