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Satterfield Optimistic Regarding Louisville's Play in the Trenches

After a suboptimal year on both sides of the line of scrimmage, Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield believes the Cardinals will have much improved offensive and defensive line.

(Photo of Louisville offensive line, Virginia defensive line: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Heading into the 2021 season, it's safe to say there are a fair amount of question marks regarding the Louisville football program. Can they improve upon their ghastly turnover margin? How will the offense fare in the wake of losing Atwell, Fitzpatrick and Hawkins? Will Malik Cunningham return to form?

Over the course of the Cardinals' 2020 campaign, another area of concern was their play at the line of scrimmage on both side of the ball. Not only did Louisville's offense allow 2.73 sacks and 8.45 tackles for loss per game, but their defense could only muster 2.00 sacks and 5.7 tackles for loss.

While the entire roster has had its' fair share of shake up, the offensive and defensive lines have been relatively untouched when compared to other positions. The only players Louisville lost that had any playing time under their belt were Robbie Bell and Cam DeGeorge on offense, then Jared Goldwire on defense.

"We know where it all starts, in the trenches," head coach Scott Satterfield said. "To me, it's gonna be the best we've been since we've been here, on both sides."

With Louisville losing the amount of offensive skill players that they did, the line has been generally regarded as their strength on that side of the ball. Not only are they returning almost their entire offensive line room, but many of the players can play multiple positions as a result of the cross training that came up during COVID.

"Renato Brown, Adonis Boone, Brian Hudson can play both (left and right side). Cole Bentley can play both, Luke Kandra can play both. I'm really excited about our offensive line this upcoming season," Satterfield said.

"It's more depth than we've ever had, probably the most depth I've ever had in general in terms of any team that I've been on. You're looking at eight, nine guys that will be able to go out and play, and play at a high level."

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, the defensive line is one that has been rejuvenated by a wealth of young newcomers. Combine that with a handful of veterans to help guide them, and the Cardinals believe they will be much better at applying pressure in 2021.

"It's just a lot of bodies out there that I think that are going to give us a lot of good minutes, and it's going to help our defense. I think our defense will be the best we've had since we've been here," Satterfield said.

"Our pass defense is one of the best out there last year, our run defense will be better this year, and then we gotta create more sacks and we got to get more more turnovers. We had opportunities for interceptions, and just dropped several, but I think they're going to be there this year with the push that we'll be able to get from the D-line"

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