Louisville's Wide Receivers, Defensive Backs Fueling Intense Competition During Fall Camp

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program is one week deep into their 2023 preseason, and competition has been a-plenty over their first four practices of fall camp. Whether that be within individual position groups or offense vs. defense, there has been no shortage of competitive reps during the first week of practice.

After one week of camp, the two position groups where the Cardinals have seen some of the more intense competition has been at wide receiver and defensive back. That being said, while the jockeying for position on the depth chart amongst the respective positions are battles to monitor in and of itself, some of the most fierce battles have come from the head-to-head matchups between the two positions.

"We got this philosophy that 'iron sharpens iron'," cornerbacks coach Steve Ellis said. "It don't matter who's out there, the job's got to get done. The numbers and names may change, but the standard stays the same. I know Kei'Trel Clark well, went to the NFL, it's the next man up. Next guy comes in, it's the next man up."

The most noteworthy head-to-head battle of fall camp so far has, unsurprisingly, been wideout Jamari Thrash vs. cornerback Jarvis Brownlee. Thrash is coming off of a 1,112 yard and seven touchdown campaign at Georgia State, while Brownlee's 66 tackles were third on the Cardinals and 12 pass breakups were tied for the second-most in the ACC.

Every time these two have been lined up against each other, whether that's in one-on-one drills or 11-on-11 scrimmages, it has been a must-see rep. Subsequently, it has made each player that much better every time the square off.

"I love Jamari, man," Brownlee said last week. "He works day in and day out. As you can see, we'd go at it every day, man. That's just iron sharpening iron. He's a top guy in college football, so just to have him on the other side of me, and going against him knowing that I'm getting great work, it's unbelievable. I just thank him for keep challenging me, and I'll keep challenging him too."

Thrash and Brownlee might be the headliners at their respective positions, but both wide receiver and defensive back is very deep for Louisville. The Cardinals didn't get a ton of great play from their wide receivers last season outside of Tyler Hudson who is now in the NFL, but new head coach Jeff Brohm flipped the position on its head over the offseason.

He brought in immediate impact guys like Thrash, Jadon Thompson, Kevin Coleman and Jimmy Calloway, with these four additions playing a big role in Louisville securing the No 1. transfer portal class for the 2023 cycle. Returners Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and Chris Bell have also taken step forward over the first week of camp.

"We got a lot of great receivers," cornerback Quincy RIley said. "Jamari, Jadon, Ahmari, Zero (Chris Bell). Every time you line up, you're going against competition. ... They're going to make plays, we're going to make plays. They're on scholarship just like we are. It just makes us better, knowing we have to be on our game 24/7."

Over on the other side of the line of scrimmage in the secondary, Louisville not only brings back a lot of players, but is welcoming some talented pieces as well. Starting corners Brownlee and Riley are, as are starting safeties M.J. Griffin and Josh Minkins, plus key reserves Trey Franklin and Derrick Edwards II are back. On top of that, this area of the field was infused with proven commodities in Storm Duck, Cam'Ron Kelly and Devin Neal, as well as high ceiling guys like Marquis Groves-Killebrew, Marcus Washington Jr. and Aaron Williams.

Oh, and Louisville's secondary before the additions wasn't half-bad, either. Last season, the Cardinals' 197.0 passing yards allowed per game was good for 22nd in college football, while their 14 interceptions came in at No. 15 and No. 2 in the ACC behind NC State.

"Honestly, I feel like we got the best (defensive) backs in the ACC," Huggins-Bruce said. "Every day is a good opportunity for us to go out and get better. We're going against two of the top guys in the ACC, so that can make us better every day."

This competition is also going on at the same time as scheme changes on both sides of the ball. While most of the system installations took place in spring ball, the coaching staff is still throwing as much at the players scheme-wise as they can, much like what happened in spring ball. Once both positions groups have a complete and total understanding of their respective schemes, that will only fuel the competition even further.

"You're trying to show the coaches what you're capable of, so that when we start game planning, and we start putting people in position to go run certain things and execute certain plays, that we go, 'In training camp, this guy was able to do this over and over again, so let's put him in that position'," wide receivers coach Garrick McGee said. "I think there are trying to make sure that the coaches know that this is what I bring to the table, so when we start playing and start game planning, we'll know what to do with them."

Louisville is heading into their second week of fall camp, which will resume on Monday. The Cardinals will kick off their 2023 season against Georgia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, Sept. 1.

(Photo of Josh Minkins via University of Louisville Athletics)

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