2024 Louisville Football Position Breakdown: Linebacker

The Cardinals' linebacking corps is shaping up to have another productive and impactful season.

Sep 16, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers running back Jaylin Lucas (12) runs the ball against Louisville Cardinals linebacker TJ Quinn (34) in the second half at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As we inch closer to the start of the 2024 college football season, Louisville Report will break down each individual position on the Cardinals' roster. Next in our positional breakdown series, we take at look at the linebackers.

Position Roster Movement:

• Returning (5): T.J. Capers, Stanquan Clark, Benjamin Perry, T.J. Quinn, Antonio Watts,
• Departing (4): Jaylin Alderman, Keith Brown, Gilbert Frierson, Jackson Hamilton
• Incoming (3): Trent Carter, Jurriente Davis, Dan Foster Jr.

Projected Depth Chart:

Middle Linebacker

1. Stanquan Clark (6-3, 230, So.)
2. Jurriente Davis (6-0, 230, R-Sr.)
3. Trent Carter (6-3, 225, Fr.)

Weakside Linebacker

1. T.J. Quinn (6-1, 230, R-Jr.)
2. Dan Foster Jr. (6-3, 225, R-Sr.)
3. T.J. Capers (6-2, 220, R-Fr.)

STAR

1. Benjamin Perry (6-3, 205, R-Jr.)
2. Antonio Watts (6-2, 225, Jr.)

Breakdown:

Heading into year one of the Jeff Brohm era, there were some valid concerns regarding Louisville's linebacker spot. For starters, the Cardinals lost their top four linebackers from their 2022 roster, including ACC DPoY runner-up in Yasir Abdullah. This left Louisville with a linebacking corps that, collectively, did not have a ton of collegiate experience.

On top of that, Louisville was making the transition to a completely new defensive scheme. Out was defensive coordinator Bryan Brown's 3-4 scheme, and in was co-DC Ron English and Mark Hagen's 4-2-5 system. Fortunately, in this new system, as noted in our defensive line breakdown, the onus in the front seven to make plays was on the defensive line and not the linebackers.

Even with this in mind, linebacker was still viewed as the "weak spot" on Louisville's defense heading into the 2023 season because of their lack of established experience. By the end of the year, not only was linebacker *not* a hinderance to the defense, it helped the Cardinals put together one of the top front sevens in the ACC.

Of course, the defensive line gets a lot of credit for helping Louisville finish with the No. 9 rushing defense (99.8 rushing yards allowed per game) and the No. 21 defense (317.1 yards allowed per game) overall. That being said, the linebackers worked hand-in-hand with the D-line in helping be a suffocating presence at and around the line of scrimmage.

For year two under Jeff Brohm, while the linebacking corps did lose one of their three starters from last season, they have a chance to be just as good - or even better - than they were during year one.

The primary reason why the linebacker position performed much better than expected was because of the play of T.J. Quinn. He was *the* breakout player for the Cardinals last season, leading the team in tackles by a wide margin with 92 after having just 20 in his previous two seasons. He also had 2.5 for loss, half a sack, two pass break ups, an interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Quinn's bread and butter last season was against the run. He was incredibly disciplined when it came to reading the backfield and taking correct pursuit angles, and obviously, was a fantastic tackler. He also held his own in pass coverage, allowing only 189 receiving yards while giving up just 17 receptions on 26 targets (65.4 percent). Of the 11 linebackers in the ACC with 300 pass coverage snaps, he had the fourth-best reception percentage, allowed the second-least yardage, and gave up the least yards after catch (104).

Opposite of Quinn at starting inside linebacker will be Stanquan Clark, who steps up after Jaylin Alderman opted to enter the portal and is now at Miami. While Quinn was last season's breakout defensive player, Clark has a chance to the breakout player this season. As just a true freshman last year, he was still able to get a fair amount of playing time, logging 15 tackles, two for loss and a forced a fumble.

Since first arriving on campus, the former top-200 prospect has been teeming with talent and potential. Said potential was on full display during the spring, as he is one of the most physical players on the roster and is continuing to improve from mental standpoint in terms of grasping the scheme and playing at the college level. It'll be difficult to have a breakout year as good as Quinn's was, but it would not be surprising to see him have a season akin to it.

Over at STAR is arguably the biggest X-Factor on the defense in Benjamin Perry. Being a converted safety, he's a natural for the STAR position, which is a linebacker/safety hybrid. Last season was a career year for Perry, finishing with 56 tackles, 6.5 for loss, a sack and four pass breakups - all of which were career-highs. He had the fifth-most tackles and pass breakups on the team, as well as the third-most TFLs.

Like Quinn, Perry proved to be a run stopping weapon for Louisville's defense last season, as his 76.1 run defense grade on PFF was the fifth-best on the team. However, something that Perry will have to improve upon a tad bit is his pass coverage. There were a handful of times where he was just slightly out of position to make the play or didn't have the best form when he was in position, and the advanced stats showcase that. Of the 48 defenders in the ACC with 320 pass coverage snaps, Perry's 56.7 coverage grade was second-worst.

Fortunately, this past spring, Perry seemed to do much better when dropping into coverage. He'll have to continue this momentum into fall camp and eventually the season, but considering this came against a group of pass catchers that are collectively better than last season's, it's a good sign.

Behind the strong starting trio of linebackers, Louisville has some pretty good overall depth across the board at the position.

Over at the two inside linebacker spots, Jurriente Davis is likely going to be the first player off the bench in the rotation. Davis has had a very unique collegiate career, spending each of his first four seasons at different schools. He was a First-Team JUCO All-American as a freshman at Hutchinson CC, then was top-five in tackles on his respective teams at MTSU and Jackson State over the next two seasons.

Davis didn't see much time last year at Texas A&M, logging only six tackles in two games, but he certainly looked like he belonged at the power conference level in the spring. He made a lot more plays than many expected, and the staff was impressed by his strength and quick-twitch athleticism. His exact impact is to-be-determined, but he is expected to have a sizable role this season.

After Alderman entered the portal after spring ball, Louisville landed former Texas State inside 'backer Dan Foster. After playing sparingly in four years at Marshall, he had a breakout season in his lone year with the Bobcats, collecting 52 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Fall camp will play a massive part in determining how much of a role Foster has this season. Film at Texas State shows he did well as a run stopper and is good at reading and reacting, but his pass coverage is very hit-or-miss. He'll also have to improve his tackling form/fundamentals after missing 15 of them last season, which would have led the team had he been a Cardinal.

If Foster is not quite ready to step up to the power conference plate, look for T.J. Capers to step into a bigger role, although this might happen even if Foster is able to make a smooth transition. While he had to miss his true freshman campaign to rehab an injury, the former five-star prospect has an incredibly high ceiling because of his talent and versatility.

Capers did raise some eyebrows in the first week of spring ball after being called out by co-defensive coordinator Ron English. Fortunately, a few weeks later, linebackers coach Mark Ivey commended him for his response to English's comments and subsequent effort. During the second half of open practices and the spring game, Capers did seem like much more of a factor, which is a fantastic sign to see from such a talented player.

Rounding out the scholarship inside linebackers, Trent Carter might not see the field much this season, but he could be someone to watch for in the future. While the recruiting services tabbed him as a sub-top-1000 prospect, the early enrollee freshman started to really click in the latter half of spring ball, and was consistently getting in the playmaking mix. It will be interesting to see if this continues in fall camp.

Back over at STAR, right behind Perry is someone who had a very under-the-radar 2023 season in Antonio Watts. In just 312 snaps (15th on UofL's defense), he placed fourth in tackles for loss with 6.0, while also tallying 30 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

Such a season from Watts was far from surprising, as he was one of the top playmakers both last spring and last fall. This past spring, Watts continued to show his playmaking ability almost every time he got on the field, whether it was making a well-timed play in coverage or coming downhill for the tackle. When Perry needs a breather for a play or series, there should be minimal playmaking potential drop-off when Watts comes in his place.

Someone else who could get some run at STAR, and likely will play some here in some capacity is safety Tamarion McDonald. He was incredibly impactful at Tennessee, and had one of the best spring balls out of any Louisville player. But I'll have more on him in my safeties breakdown.

When you take a step back and look at the defense as a whole, sure, the defensive line and secondary are the ones vying for the best overall unit for Louisville on that side of the line of scrimmage. But that's more so of an indictment of how good those areas of the field are for Louisville vs. how much is left to be desired for the linebackers.

Overall, linebacker is shaping up to have yet another productive and impactful role for Louisville in 2024. Their trio of starters have good production and experience, and still have potential to be even better, while there is quality depth behind them at all three spots. The linebacking corps should help the defensive line produce a top-tier run defense, as well as be a factor in pass coverage with the secondary.

Other Position Breakdowns:

• Quarterback
• Running Back
• Wide Receiver
• Tight End
• Offensive Line
• Defensive Line
• Cornerback
• Safety
• Special Teams (coming soon)

(Photo of T.J. Quinn: Trevor Ruszkowski - USA TODAY Sports)

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