Louisville Report

2023 Louisville Football Position Breakdown: Offensive Line

Bringing back a handful of quality pieces from last year and infusing it with a great crop of transfers, the Cardinal could have one of the better lines in the ACC.

Matthew McGavic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As we inch closer to the start of the 2023 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 offensive line.

Position Roster Movement:

Returning (8): Joshua Black, Renato Brown, Austin Collins, Michael Gonzalez, Makhete Gueye, Bryan Hudson, Izaiah Reed, Sam Secrest

Departing (6): Adonis Boone (Graduation), Max Cabana (Transfer - Universite Laval), Caleb Chandler (Graduation), Aaron Gunn (Transfer - James Madison), Luke Kandra (Transfer- Cincinnati), Trevor Reid (Graduation)

Incoming (9): Luke Burgess (HS), Joe Crocker (HS), John Paul Flores (Transfer - Virginia), Vincent Lumia (Transfer - Duquesne), Eric Miller (Transfer - Purdue), Lance Robinson (Transfer - Houston), Madden Sanker (HS), Trevonte Sylvester (Transfer - Houston), Willie Tyler (Rutgers)

Projected Depth Chart:

Left Tackle

  1. Eric Miller (6-7, 305, R-Sr.)
  2. Willie Tyler (6-6, 320, R-Sr.)
  3. Luke Burgess (6-8, 300, Fr.)
  4. Trevonte Sylvester (6-5, 290, R-So.)

Left Guard

  1. John Paul Flores (6-4, 305, R-Sr.)
  2. Madden Sanker (6-4, 310, Fr.)
  3. Izaiah Reed (6-5, 295, R-Fr.)

Center

  1. Bryan Hudson (6-4, 305, R-Sr.)
  2. Austin Collins (6-3, 290, R-So.)
  3. Sam Secrest (6-6, 305, R-Fr.)

Right Guard

  1. Michael Gonzalez (6-4, 305, Jr.)
  2. Joshua Black (6-2, 280, R-Jr.)
  3. Makhete Gueye (6-7, 300, R-Fr.)

Right Tackle

  1. Renato Brown (6-4, 315, R-Jr.)
  2. Lance Robinson (6-4, 295, R-Sr)
  3. Vincent Lumia (6-3, 290, Sr.)
  4. Joe Crocker (6-7, 310, Fr.)

Breakdown:

This time last year, Louisville's offensive line was viewed as arguably the strongest unit on the entire team. Not only were they coming off of a 2021 campaign in which they ranked 25th in the FBS in tackles for loss allowed per game and 31st in sacks allowed, they were set to lose only one regular starter from this group.

As for how the offensive line as a whole actually performed during the 2022 season, from a statistical standpoint, they weren't nearly as dominant as the year before. By the end of the season, Louisville had allowed 2.08 sacks and 5.77 tackles for loss per game. The latter ranked 74th in FBS, while the former was 64th out of 130 FBS teams. Not great, not terrible, just average if not slightly disappointing.

However, some of the sacks that were allowed last season were coverage sacks, due to the fact that the passing game struggle last season and a lot of the receivers simply couldn't generate consistant separation. According to Pro Football Focus, Louisville's pass block grade of 70.7 for the season was good for 39th in FBS. Much better than the sack rate suggests.

Plus, the line was pretty good as opening holes for the running backs as well. Considering Louisville was down to their No. 4 and 5 backs by the end of the season, the Cardinals still averaged the 23rd-most rushing yards per game at 200.6. PFF also backs up the line's prowess in the running game, as their run blocking season grade of 67.5 was good for 34th.

But unlike last offseason, Louisville is losing more than just one impact player on the line. Three starters in former All-American Caleb Chandler, Adonis Boone and Trevor Reid all graduated, plus Luke Kandra - an impact reserve who was in line to start - entered the portal.

That being said, Louisville is set to have an offensive line that, when everything is said and done, could be one of the best in the ACC. Not only did the Cardinals retain a handful of talent, but new head coach Jeff Brohm did a phenomenal job of navigating the transfer portal following spring ball.

The offensive line will undoubtedly be headlined by center Bryan Hudson. He was PFF's third-highest rated offensive guard in the ACC with a rating of 76.9, and the league's second-highest rated center behind NC State's Grant Gibson, who is now in the NFL. Out of 462 pass block snaps and 914 total offensive snaps, Hudson allowed only 14 pressures all season, and was tabbed as a Second-Team All-ACC selection. On a line where there is a lot of turnover from last season, having the man in the middle be the most experienced is a huge boost.

Hudson is the star of the show, but the supporting starting cast around him - particularly at tackle - is also not too shabby. Renato Brown returns for another year, and was a reliable force at right tackle. He was the Cardinals' third-highest rated regular starter behind Hudson and Michael Gonzalez, and allowed only one sack and 16 total pressures out of 368 pass block snaps and 740 total snaps. He was named an All-ACC honorable mention last season.

At left tackle, while Louisville does lose Adonis Boone, they picked up a big addition through the portal in Eric Miller. A starter at Purdue for the last two seasons, he allowed only 26 total pressures in 587 pass block snaps taken and 961 offensive snaps overall last season. Considering he played under Brohm during each of his first five years at Purdue, he should make a seamless transition to Louisville.

The two guard spots boast quality starters as well. With Miller coming in, Gonzalez gets bumped from left tackle to right guard. However, most of his reps in the back half of the 2022 season actually came at right guard, and he looked good doing it, too. Considering he also played left tackle at times, and finished the season as Louisville's second-highest rated starting lineman according to PFF with a grade of 70.1, he could be the X-Factor for this group.

Taking the right guard spot that was left open by Caleb Chandler will be UVA transfer John Paul Flores. He was the Cavaliers' second-highest rated offensive lineman in 2022 with a PFF grade of 60.6, and was a Second-Team All-Ivy League selection in 2021 after starting his career at Dartmouth. He was the one OL transfer that came in before spring, and looked good during spring ball.

Behind those starters, Louisville has some exceptional depth at the tackle spot. Both Willie Tyler and Lance Robinson were starters at Rutgers and Houston, respectively, and that will only fuel the competition. True freshman Luke Burgess also looked solid in the spring as an early enrollee, and has a bright future ahead of him. Guys like Trevonte Sylvester and Vincent Lumia also have enough quality experience to be able to allow Louisville consistently rotate bodies on the edges and not have insane talent drop-off.

The interior of the offensive line is where the depth is a little shaky. True freshman Madden Sanker should see some playing time in year one considering he is the highest-ranked OL to ever sign with Louisville, but there's not many other interior lineman that have a ton of significant experience. Austin Collins hasn't seen much playing time since his surprise start in the 2020 finale, Joshua Black has not had consistent run either, then the trio of Makhete Gueye, Izaiah Reed, and Sam Secrest have played a combined zero career offensive snaps.

But even with the depth concerns at guard and center, Louisville is still in line to have a good, potentially great, offensive line for year one of the Jeff Brohm era. They retain enough starters to maintain enough chemistry and production continuity with the coaching change, and the portal addition of guys like Miller, Flores, Robinson and Tyler give the line a massive shot in the arm.

Time will tell how this unit is able to cohesively perform. But with the wide receiver corps getting boosted to presumably cut down on coverage sacks, and the running backs room bringing back two of their top three rushers from last season, that should help the overall numbers improve from last season. Barring a rash of injuries, Louisville should have a top-five line in the ACC.

Other Position Breakdowns:

(Photo of Louisville offensive and defensive lines: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic

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