Louisville Football 2023 Season Preview

With the 2023 college football season on the horizon, let's take a look at what we should expect from this year's iteration of Louisville Cardinals football.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The long and tortuous offseason is almost over, and the 2023 college football season is just around the corner. Week Zero gets underway this Saturday, with most programs in Division I returning to the gridiron next weekend. For the University of Louisville football program, they are gearing up for their first season under new head coach Jeff Brohm.

After back-to-back disappointing campaigns, the Cardinals were able to get back to a winning season in 2022. In what wound up being their final year under head coach Scott Satterfield, Louisville went 8-5 with a Fenway Bowl win over rival Cincinnati. Satterfield, ironically, left for the Bearcats just after the end of the regular season.

Related: 2023 Louisville Schedule and Results

Fortunately for Louisville, not only has the coaching change not killed positive forward momentum, but the program has actually capitalized on it in some ways. While Louisville did lose some longtime playmakers at various positions, Brohm and his staff have done a masterful job with roster management. Between being able to retain a good amount of playmakers, bringing in multiple impact transfers and signing a top-25 recruiting class, the Cardinals have a very talented roster for the 2023 season.

On top of that, when combining Brohm's acumen as a coach and his status as a Louisville native and alum, fan interest in the program has skyrocketed. Both locally and nationally, buzz surrounding the program is at a point that hasn't been seen since the Lamar Jackson days.

Related: Louisville's Complete 2023 Player Roster

So what does all this likely mean for the actual on-field product this season? Let's dive in and break it all down

A Look at the Offense

For those who have never seen a Jeff Brohm-run team during his time at either Western Kentucky or Purdue, he is an offensive-minded coach with an emphasis on having a high-flying passing attack. In 2021 when Purdue went 9-4, which was their most wins since the Joe Tiller era, the Boilermakers had the No. 33 offense in FBS (439.6 YPG) and the No. 5 passing attack (355.4 PYPG). Their offense took a slight step back last season with the No. 50 offense (410.3 YPG) and No. 17 (287.2 PYPG) through conference championship weekend, but it was still a season in which Purdue made it to the Big Ten Championship game.

As you can imagine, the quarterback is a highly important piece to the puzzle for a Jeff Brohm team. But with Louisville's longtime starter in Malik Cunningham now with the New England Patriots vying for a spot on their 53-man roster, Brohm was going to have to find someone new to take over the reigns of his offense. He wound up reuniting with Jack Plummer, who spent the first four seasons of his career at Purdue before playing the 2022 season at Cal.

Last season while with the Golden Bears, Plummer proved what he can do when given a full season to start, completing 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,095 yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His reunion with Brohm seems to have been a smooth transition, as he was consistently displaying his strong arm and cerebral decision making in the spring and fall. There were some moments in fall camp where Plummer did seem a bit overzealous, at least according to Brohm, but the good far outweighed the bad.

On top of bringing in a quarterback who has the physical toolset necessary and intimate knowledge of the system, Louisville is loaded at the offensive skill positions. This is particularly true at wide receiver, which was almost completely overhauled in the weeks after Brohm took over last December. After having an average wide receiver room at best for the last two seasons, it's now arguably the strength of the offense - and maybe even the whole team.

The conversation here undoubtedly starts with Jamari Thrash. The Georgia State transfer was one of the most explosive players in college football last season, logging 61 receptions for 1,112 yards and seven touchdowns. The transition from the Group of Five to the ACC appears to have been a seamless one, as his upper tier speed and agility, plus his elite catch radius and body control has been on full display this offseason.

Thrash is far from the only receiver that opposing defenses need to account for. Transfers Kevin Coleman Jr. and Jimmy Calloway have also shined in camp, as have returners Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and Chris Bell. While Thrash will command plenty of targets, especially since Brohm's system puts a heavy emphasis on their top wideout, Plummer has plenty of options to choose from.

When Louisville does choose to run the football, they have one of the best running backs in the ACC to give the ball to. After starting last season at fourth on the depth chart, Jawhar Jordan finished the 2022 season with 815 rushing yards - which placed fifth in the ACC - and four touchdowns. His open field speed and elusiveness was on full display during fall camp, so while his role will take a bit of a hit, he should still be in line for a productive 2023 campaign.

Plus, the Cardinals have two good options at running back behind Jordan as well. Maurice Turner, who once ran stride-for-stride with NFL superstar Tyreek Hill, also did well in the second half of the 2022 season, and had arguably the best camp out of all the running backs. Wisconsin transfer Isaac Guerendo, who is the biggest running back on the roster but still has great open field speed, will also be a good change-of-pace back or someone to go to in short yardage situations.

However, this all means nothing if the offensive line can't keep Plummer upright or pave open a hole for the backs. Fortunately, after having an average - if not slightly disappointing - offensive line last season (64th nationally in sacks allowed and 74th in tackles for loss allowed), Brohm got to work in the transfer portal here too. Guys like Eric Miller, Willie Tyler and Lance Robinson elevated the play of the offensive line from the spring to the fall. Not to mention that the Cardinals return three starters here, including the best center in the ACC in Bryan Hudson.

If there's any weakness on this offense, it's at tight end. With Marshon Ford no longer in the fold, the combined career totals for the entire position is just six receptions for 94 yards and a single touchdown. Considering how important this position is in a Brohm offense (Payne Durham had 56 catches for 560 yards and eight touchdowns last season for Purdue), this is a big deal. Josh Lifson seems to have a great grasp of the offense, true freshman Jamari Johnson has a bright future and Joey Gatewood did seem to get going towards the end of fall camp, but time will tell who - if anyone makes an impact here.

In-Depth Pre-Fall Camp Offensive Position Breakdowns:

• Quarterback
• Running Back
• Wide Receiver
• Tight End
• Offensive Line

A Look at the Defense

Last season following a disappointing defensive showcase in 2021, that side of the ball absolutely exploded, and was the primary reason why Louisville was able to log a winning season for the first time since 2019. The Cardinals led the nation in sacks at 3.85 per game, were seventh in tackles for loss and had the No. 23 overall defense at 330.2 yards allowed per game.

That being said, the defense for Louisville is going to look a little different in 2023, and not just because they lost some key pieces behind their lofty sack and TFL numbers. The Cardinals are transitioning from a 3-4 defensive scheme that the previous regime ran, to a 4-2-5 system that is being co-operated by Ron English and Mark Hagen.

The strength of this defense, for a couple reasons, is going to be the defensive line. Unlike the previous system where a lot of the havoc plays came from the linebacking corps, it's defensive linemen who are typically the ones making impact plays, as this scheme relies a lot on players winning one-on-one battles.

Plus, the defensive line is one of the most deep position groups on the roster, sporting healthy mix of quality starters and impact reserves. The group is headlined by defensive end Ashton Gillotte, who after logging 8.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks last season, is one of the Cardinals' top returners on the entire team after looking like a monster in the spring and fall. The edge will also see plenty of run from fellow starter and Stanford transfer Stephen Herron, as well as reserves like Mason Reiger and Popeye Williams.

Like at the edges, the middle of the line also has plenty of capable players, and will very likely see guys consistently cycle in and out to preserve the starters. Unsung heroes from last year like Dezmond Tell and Jared Dawson have a chance show what they are capable of, Ramon Puryear and Georgia State transfer Jeffery Clark have had phenomenal fall camps, and - when healthy - Jermayne Lole is an X-factor because of his NFL caliber talent.

The secondary is also in line to have a great 2023 showing due in part to both scheme fit and a plethora of quality personnel. Last season in this system, Purdue ranked 18th in passes intercepted with 14 and 33rd in total passes defended with 60. While their overall passing defense was 48th at 213.8 passing yards allowed per game, in 2021, English's first year, it was 33rd with 208.7 passing yards allowed per game.

Despite losing Kei'Trel Clark to the NFL Draft, Louisville brings back a lot of quality pieces in the secondary. Their starting cornerback duo in Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Quincy Riley has potential to be top three in the ACC. Brownlee logged a team-best 12 pass breakups and has taken tremendous strides this offseason when it comes to his consistency in pass coverage, while Riley snagged a team-best three interceptions while vastly improving his physicality in the fall. Former All-ACC corner and UNC transfer Storm Duck plus returners Trey Frankin and Derrick Edwards III have both looked good in camp, so there should be minimal talent drop-off when subbing these two.

Safety is a little bit of a question mark due to injuries suffered here. M.J. Griffin, who played a massive role in Louisville's defensive turnaround last season, is likely going to be out for the entire season due to a lower leg injury. D'Angelo Hutchinson is also going to miss some extended time as well. The remaining three scholarship safeties - Josh Minkins, Baylor transfer Devin Neal and UNC transfer Cam'Ron Kelly - all had good fall camps, but Louisville can ill-afford another injury here.

But like with the offense, there is a clear weak spot on the defense, and it's the linebacker spot. Specifically, it's at inside linebacker after losing the vast majority of the production here from last season. It's not in as dire straits as previously thought, as Oregon transfer Keith Brown plus T.J. Quinn have both had very good showings in fall camp, and true freshman Stanquan Clark is a candidate to see early playing time, but overall depth/experience here is a valid concern.

However, the X-Factor for the defense will be over at STAR, which is a linebacker/safety hybrid. For being an individual position, Louisville actually has good depth here. Benjamin Perry is coming off of a breakout 2022 campaign, and during the offseason, he looked tremendous when dropping into pass coverage, and played aggressive and physical when close to the line of scrimmage. Guys like Miami transfer Gilbert Frierson and Antonio Watts also stood out at times during camp.

In-Depth Pre-Fall Camp Defensive Position Breakdowns:

• Defensive Line
• Linebacker
• Cornerback
• Safety

A Look at the Special Teams

Special teams - specifically kicking - for Louisville will look vastly different in 2023. Starting kicker James Turner is back home in his home state and now with Michigan, while starting punter Mark Vassett joined Deion Sanders at Colorado.

At placekicker, Brock Travelstead will likely take over here, as he has looked the best and most consistent amongst the kickers this offseason. In fact, special teams coach Karl Maslowski says that had it not been for an injury last offseason, Travelstead could have unseated Turner as the starter.

Punting seems to be moving in the right direction. It's battle between Brady Hodges and Carter Schwartz right now, and while both have delivered plenty of booming kicks this fall, it's just a matter of both players getting more consistent.

As far as punt and kick returners go, Louisville is in good shape. Jawhar Jordan is one of the best all-purpose backs in the ACC, and he abilities on kickoff returns in camp was on full display. As for punt returner, look out for Kevin Coleman Jr. to take over here, as he has gotten consistent run at the position since the spring.

Related: In-Depth Pre-Fall Camp Special Teams Breakdown

Bottom Line

In the preseason, Louisville was voted to finish eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference race. However, this is a team that very much has potential to climb the conference ladder and finish in the top three or five.

Considering what Brohm was able to accomplish at a place like Purdue, when you add in the fact that there is a perceived upgrade in terms of the talent at his disposal, it's very possible that Louisville could have a special season in year one of the Brohm era. It just all has to come together in terms of chemistry and system retentions, which seems to have made good progress in the spring.

It also helps that Louisville has one of the easiest schedules in the Power Five. They avoid having to play the top three teams in the ACC in Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina, half of their conference schedule is the four worst teams in the league, and there are only three true road games. They do have to face Notre Dame, Kentucky, plus Miami and NC State on the road, but most of the rest of the schedule is doable.

In terms of what to expect from this team from a win/loss standpoint, 8-4 seems to be the consensus, and maybe 9-3 depending on how it shakes out. Given the talent and acumen of the staff, anything less than eight wins will likely be viewed a failure and a disappointment.

On the other side of that coin, the dominoes could all fall the right way, and Louisville could find themselves in double-digit win territory or maybe even contending for the ACC in the end. Regardless, the upside with this team has the potential to be very high.

(Photo of Louie: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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