2023 Louisville Football Position Breakdown: Running Back
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 running backs.
Position Roster Movement:
Returning (2): Jawhar Jordan, Maurice Turner
Departing (3): Trevion Cooley (Transfer - Georgia Tech), Tiyon Evans (NFL Draft), Jalen Mitchell (Transfer - UConn)
Incoming (2): Keyjuan Brown (HS), Isaac Guerendo (Transfer - Wisconsin)
Projected Depth Chart:
- Jawhar Jordan (5-10, 180, R-Jr.)
- Isaac Guerendo (6-1, 225, Sr.)
- Maurice Turner (5-10, 185, So.)
- Keyjuan Brown (5-9, 205, Fr.)
Breakdown:
For the last four years under head coach Scott Satterfield, Louisville fans have been used to a style of football in which running the ball was a fixture of their offense. That will change moving forward with Jeff Brohm now at the helm, as he brings with him an offensive scheme that is predicated on throwing the football often.
Even though Purdue averaged only 33.29 rushes and 121.0 yards per game (which was good for 97th and 102nd in the FBS, respectively) last season in their final campaign under Brohm, running back will still be a huge part of his offense. Like Bobby Petrino, Brohm subscribes to the "feed the studs" school of thought, and that applies to running backs as well. Despite being a walk-on, Devin Mockobee still was able to rush for 968 yards and nine rushing touchdowns during the 2022 season.
Fortunately, not only is Brohm not going to have to heavily rely on a walk-on at this position in 2023, he is inheriting one of the best all-purpose backs in the ACC. After starting the 2022 season at fourth on the depth chart not seeing consistent playing time until the second half of the season, Jawhar Jordan still was able to rush for 815 yards and four touchdowns, with the yardage mark leading the Cardinals and placing fifth in the conference. Jordan also led the UofL in kickoff return yardage, amassing 353 including a 98-yard touchdown.
While Louisville's running scheme is switching from Satterfield's outside zone scheme to one that has more of a north-south emphasis, Jordan should still be a successful feature back. Plenty of his gains came from unleashes his speed and elusiveness on the edges, but he displayed from time-to-time both last season and in spring ball that he has no problem taking it up the middle either weaving through traffic or delivering punishment. Barring injury, which is why he was thrust into the position he was last season, he should be an underrated factor in how successful Louisville will be offensively in year one of the Brohm era.
That being said, while Jordan should take the lion's share of the reps at the position, the two running backs behind him will still see plenty of run. Based mostly on experience, Wisconsin transfer Isaac Guerendo is likely going to be RB2. As the tallest and heaviest running back on the roster, Guerendo will probably be Louisville's third down back or be the go-to in short yardage situations. However, there could be times where he steps into the RB1 role for a drive, considering he was one of the Badgers' fastest players during his time in Madison. 2022 was finally where he was able to play a full season and avoid major injury, rushing for 385 yards and five touchdowns despite being third on the depth chart. He was also UW's go-to kick returner, collecting 454 kick return yards.
But don't sleep on Maurice Turner, either. Like Jordan, Turner's role on the team only grew bigger as the 2022 season went on and injuries to other running backs piled up. Not only did he have the most rushing yards in a single game by a Cardinal last season with 160 against Cincinnati (finishing with 314 on the season), he arguably looked the best out of all the running backs in spring ball. Anytime you have a player whose speed rivals that of NFL superstar Tyreek Hill, you find a way to incorporate him into your game plan.
This unfortunately leaves Keyjuan Brown as a prime candidate to take a redshirt in 2023, once again, barring a season like 2022 where running backs drop like flies. The silver lining here is that this will give him time to adjust to the college level and work on his speed. Considering he has elite field vision, if he can become a tick faster, he has an incredible amount of potential down the road.
No matter who is in the backfield at any given time, expect them to be factor in the passing game that opposing defenses have to take account for. Mockobee's work as a pass catcher in 2022 for Purdue (32 receptions for 274 yards) almost single-handedly eclipsed the combined production from all five of Louisville's scholarship backs (37 receptions for 236 yards) last season. Jordan, Guerendo and Turner all got plenty of work catches passes in the spring, with Turner standing out the most in this department.
Louisville might have one less scholarship back than they did last season, but overall, it's hard for them not to feel good about what they have. Jordan is a proven back in the ACC who has the potential to thrive despite playing in a pass-heavy system, while Guerendo and Turner are very capable backups that can deliver when their number is called. All three main backs each provide something a little bit different from the others two, which will only lift the ceiling of the offense even higher.
Other Position Breakdowns:
- Quarterback
- Wide Receiver
- Tight End
- Offensive Line
- Defensive Line (coming soon)
- Linebacker (coming soon)
- Cornerback (coming soon)
- Safety (coming soon)
- Special Teams (coming soon)
(Photo of Jawhar Jordan: Eric Canha - USA TODAY Sports)
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