Louisville's 2023 Midseason Position Group Grades

The season has now reached the bye week for the Cardinals, so it's time to hand out the midseason report card.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2023 regular season for the Louisville football program has now reached the bye week, and it's safe to say that things have gone pretty well for them up to this points.

While they might be coming off of a stunning upset loss at Pitt, the Cardinals are still 6-1 and 3-1 in ACC play under first year head coach Jeff Brohm. Prior to falling last weekend, Louisville had been off to their best start to a season since 2013.

It might not be a perfect season anymore, but it's still been a highly successful one so far. There have been some incredible highs, a handful of lows, and a little bit in between.

With the season just past the halfway point and now at the bye week, we here at Louisville Report decided to issue a report card to assess the various position groups for the Cardinals. Take a look below:

Quarterback: B-

While Jack Plummer has been good up to this point in the season, he's also been wildly inconsistent. He'll have moments like the Boston College or Notre Dame game where he can showcase either his arm strength or efficiency, which has helped him become the ACC's second-leading passer at 1,901 passing yards. But there are also moments like the first half against Georgia Tech and Pitt game where his decision making has cost Louisville dearly. His eight interceptions put Louisville at 105th nationally at that mark.

Running Back: A

It's hard to ask much more from Louisville's running backs up to this point. Not only is Jawhar Jordan regarded as one of the nation's best at 661 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, but both Isaac Guerendo and Maurice Turner have had impacts in their roles as well (366 yards and four touchdowns combined). Plus they've all been proven to be weapons in the passing game, too. The only thing keeping them from an A+ has been this unit's collective pass blocking, which has been very hit-or-miss.

Wide Receiver: B

Louisville has certainly gotten a lot more out of their receiving corps than they have over the last few years of the Satterfield era. Jamari Thrash and his 39 receptions for 639 yards and six touchdowns has established himself as one of the better receivers in the ACC, and guys like Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, Chris Bell, Kevin Coleman Jr. and Jimmy Calloway have been a good supporting cast. The only issue here is that untimely drops have been a theme at times this season, and this unit as a whole hasn't generated as much separation over the last few games as they have to start the season.

Tight End: D-

We all knew that tight end was going to be the weak spot on this offense heading into the season, and so far, that has been the case. Louisville's tight ends have combined for just 11 catches for 125 yards (although that has come with two touchdowns), and no one seems to have taken the opportunity to establish themselves as the go-to guy here. Plus, according to PFF, pass blocking amongst this group has been abysmal save for Duane Martin.

Offensive Line: B

Louisville's offensive line has been great in one regard, and very pedestrian in another. While the sacks and tackles for loss allowed aren't where you would like (76th and 44th nationally, respectively), some of this has been because of Plummer holding onto the football too long. PFF's stats back this up, as Louisville's six main linemen have pass block grades above a 70, and five have grades over 75. On the other hand, run blocking hasn't been nearly what was expected, as four of the six main lineman have run block grades between 58.0 and 62.1 (60 is average).

Defensive Line: C+

While Ashton Gillotte (8.0 TFLs, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles) is unquestionably the defense's MVP, the line as a whole has had been up-and-down. They largely struggled to get pressure in the backfield over their first four games, played lights out against NC State and Notre Dame, then didn't perform as nearly expected against Pitt. Their rushing defense is fantastic without a doubt at 14th in the FBS (97.1 rush yards per game allowed), but their streakiness in rushing the passer has left a lot to be desired. They're currently 74th nationally in sacks per game at 2.14.

Linebacker: B+

This area was viewed as the defense's weak area heading into the season, but it has been a pleasant surprise. T.J. Quinn is making plays all over the field, especially against the run (team-best and eighth in ACC 55 tackles), Jaylin Alderman has had a good bounce-back season in a bigger role, and Benjamin Perry - while a bit inconsistent at times - is an X-Factor at the STAR position. This position group has played a big role in Louisville's stout run defense.

Cornerback: A-

Quincy Riley and Jarvis Brownlee are the second-best cornerback duo in the ACC behind only Duke's Myles Jones and Chandler Rivers. Riley has been especially dominant in coverage, and is tied for seventh nationally in pass defenses with nine (2 interceptions, seven PBUs). The only complaint here is that Brownlee has still been prone to the occasional massive blown coverage, and Storm Duck quite hasn't lived up to expectations in his role as the go-to corner off the bench.

Safety: B

Things could have ended in disaster at this position with M.J. Griffin being lost for the season and Josh Minkins being limited with a hamstring injury. However, the duo of Cam'Ron Kelly and Devin Neal have stepped up to the plate in a big way. Have things been perfect? Not quite, as the coverage on the back end hasn't been that sharp, but both have been incredible factors in run support and have made plays when needed.

(Photo via Trevor Ruszkowski - USA TODAY Sports)

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