Louisville's Two Biggest Roster Questions Heading Into the 2020 Season
Heading into year two of the Scott Satterfield era, Louisville has much higher expectations compared to this time last year. The Cardinals return sixteen starters from a team that went 8-5 in 2019 including a Music City Bowl win vs. Mississippi State, and were recently picked to finish fourth in the ACC by league media members.
Louisville returns offensive playmakers like Micale Cunningham, Tutu Atwell and Javian Hawkins; as well as defensive veterans such as Russ Yeast and CJ Avery. But even a team with this much talent and experience isn't without some question marks regarding the roster as a whole.
On the offensive side of things, Satterfield believes that the biggest question mark will revolve around how the offensive line will fare. The Cardinals allowed the most tackles for loss in FBS last season, and lost both starting offensive tackles.
But all is not doom and gloom when it comes to the effort up front. The coaching staff has long noticed an improvement in the position group since the end of last season, and Satterfield is comfortable with the two replacements on the line.
"(Adonis) Boone started three games for us last year, and you got Renato Brown who's really come on strong," Satterfield said in his weekly pregame press conference. Boone & Brown will be the starting left & right tackles for the Cards heading into the season.
As for the other roster question heading into the season, it surprisingly does not revolve around the defensive side of the ball. With just four days until Louisville kicks off the 2020 season, the staff has yet to name both a starting kicker and punter.
Louisville has held an open competition at both positions since the departures of starting place kicker Blanton Creque and punter Mason King. The program is close to naming both replacements, but Satterfield is left wondering how each future starter will handle their newfound role from a mental standpoint.
"You never know how they're going to react when the lights come on," he said. "Obviously we've been working hard at it, so hopefully those guys will perform well."
Louisville is set to kickoff the season against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at home on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8:00pm on the ACC Network.
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