2024 Louisville Football Position Breakdown: Defensive Line

The Cardinals head into the 2024 season with fantastic talent, depth and production on the defensive line.

Oct 7, 2023; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte (9) sacks Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman (10) during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. / Jamie Rhodes-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 offensive line.

Position Roster Movement:

• Returning (10): Selah Brown, Micah Carter, Saadiq Clements, Jared Dawson, Ashton Gillotte, Adonijah Green, Ramon Puryear, Mason Reiger, William Spencer, Dezmond Tell
• Departing (10): Victoine Brown, Jeffery Clark, Ryheem Craig, Stephen Herron, Jermayne Lole, Rodney McGraw, R.J. Sorensen, Tawfiq Thomas, Popeye Williams, Kameron Wilson
• Incoming (8): Maurice Davis, Thor Griffith, Jordan Guerad, Myles Jenrigan, Richard Kinley II, Rene Konga, Tramel Logan, Xavier Porter

Projected Depth Chart:

Defensive End

1. Ashton Gillotte (6-3, 275, Sr)
2. Ramon Puryear (6-3, 275, R-Sr.)
3. Adonijah Green (6-6, 240, R-Fr.)
4. Micah Carter (6-6, 250, R-Fr.)
5. *Mason Reiger (6-4, 250, Sr.)

Defensive Tackle

1. Dezmond Tell (6-1, 295, Sr.)
2. Jordan Guerad (6-2, 295, R-Sr.)
3. Rene Konga (6-4, 290, R-Sr.)
4. Saadiq Clements (6-4, 290, R-Fr.)

Nose Tackle

1. Thor Griffith (6-2, 320, Gr.)
2. Jared Dawson (6-2, 305, R-Jr.)
3. Selah Brown (6-2, 285, Jr.)
4. William Spencer (6-5, 305, R-Fr.)

LEO (DE/LB)

1. Myles Jernigan (6-3, 235, R-Sr.)
2. Tramel Logan (6-4, 247, R-Sr.)
3. Richard Kinley II (6-3, 235, R-Sr.)
4. Maurice Davis (6-4, 215, Fr.)
5. Xavier Porter (6-2, 265, Fr.)

*out for 2024 season

Breakdown:

With Jeff Brohm taking over as the head coach of the Louisville football prior to last season, a plethora of scheme changes from how former head coach Scott Satterfield and his staff liked to run things came with it. On the defensive side of the ball, one of the biggest changes was the utilization of the front seven.

Under Satterfield and defensive coordinator Bryan Brown, in their 3-4 scheme, the defensive linemen ate up blocks while the linebackers swarmed in the make the play. In the 4-2-5 scheme ran by co-defensive coordinators Ron English and Mark Hagen, it's essentially the opposite. It relies a lot on the down linemen winning their one-on-one battles to make plays, while the two inside backers and the STAR were more so read-and-react and helped clean things up.

Coming off of a 2022 season where the defensive line helped Louisville be one of the most disruptive defenses in college football, the new schemes under Brohm, English and Hagen put the D-Line in a position where the had the opportunity to flourish. The line took this opportunity and ran with it.

For the majority of the 2023 season, the Cardinals set a physical and aggressive tone at the line of scrimmage, swarming and suffocating their opponents before they really had a chance to get going. Sure, these efforts (and defense's efficiency as a whole) took a sizable step back over the final month, but defensive line still helped 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.

While Louisville did lose a fair amount of players on the D-line from a numbers perspective, there's a chance that this area of the field could be even better in 2024. Between the players coming back and the ones added via the portal, the Cardinals have a phenomenal blend of talent, experience and production.

When talking about Louisville's defensive line, the conversation unquestionably starts with defensive end Ashton Gillotte. Not only is he the best player on Louisville's roster, he's one of the best players in all of college football. Last season, Gillotte earned Second-Team All-American honors after collecting 14.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, three forced fumbles and 45.0 tackles overall. His sack total led the ACC, and was good for eighth in the FBS.

On top of having an absurd motor, Gillotte is one of the the most powerful players in college football, and his set of pass rush moves took a big step forward in 2023. During the spring, Gillotte took reps at multiple spots on the line, and the coaching staff noted that they were open to moving him around to exploit weaknesses on opposing offensive lines, wherever they may be. It goes without saying that in the spring, he looked ready to repeat last season's campaign - if not surpass it.

As disruptive as Gillotte will be at the true defensive end spot (or wherever he lines up), Louisville's projected starter at nose tackle in Thor Griffith has a very good chance to be just as impactful. A two-time First-Team All-Ivy League selection, the Harvard transfer collected a team-best 11.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and 55 tackles overall last season; plus 46 tackles, 12.0 for loss and 5.0 sacks as a junior when he was named an FCS Third-Team All-American.

Louisville has a lot of upper-tier athletes on their roster, but Griffith has a legit case as their most athletic. He came in at No. 8 on The Athletic's "Freaks List" from last season, which ranks the most athletic players in college football. At the time, he bench pressed 225 pounds 45 times, and ran a 4.95 40-yard dash. For context, the most reps in the bench press from March's NFL Combine by any position was 39, and the six defensive tackles who ran faster 40 times than Griffith were all under 300 pounds.

We didn't get to see Griffith in spring ball with Louisville, as he was finishing up his final semester at Harvard (which is completely understandable). But this is a player who many thought was going to end up at either Ohio State or Michigan, and Louisville swooped in to land him. He should have a seamless transition to the ACC when fall camp rolls around.

While Griffith is a newcomer on the inside of the line, right next to him at starting defensive tackle is one of the more tenured Cardinals on the roster in Dezmond Tell. A four-year player and two-year starter, Tell notched 4.0 tackles for loss, two sacks, 20 tackles and a forced fumble last season.

While his stats from last season and career as a whole (10.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks, 60 tackles) might not stand out to many, he has been a consistent, under-the-radar component during his time at Louisville. He's the kind of player where stats don't tell the whole story, and you can see his impact on the game - ranging from eating up blocks for others to make plays, and using his strength to force the ball carrier off his intended spot - from watching the film.

Over at the LEO spot, which is a defensive end/linebacker hybrid position where the player is a standing pass rusher, there are a few options here. Louisville was in line to have Tennessee transfer Tyler Baron take over this spot, but after he re-entered the portal (and Louisville experienced a handful of injuries), the staff brought in several defensive line transfers in the spring portal window.

The odds-on favorite to earn the starting LEO spot is Myles Jernigan. For starters, he already has multi-year starting power conference as a transfer from Cal, and can make plays in a variety of ways. In his last two seasons out west with the Golden Bears, he tallied 78 tackles, 7.5 for loss, 5.0 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Jernigan's main competition when fall camp rolls around will be from USF transfer Tramel Logan. A two-year starter with the Bulls, he is coming off of his best season in college. He collected 33 total tackles, 8.0 for loss, 1.5 sacks, four pass breakups, a pick-six and two fumble recoveries for touchdowns. He clearly has a penchant for making plays, and time will tell how his transition to the ACC goes.

There's another quality backup option at the true defensive end spot behind Gillotte. Ramon Puryear is coming off of his best season in college, as the former walk-on logged 21 tackles, 6.0 for loss, 4.0 sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries - all of which were career-highs.

Puryear was converted from defensive end to defensive tackle ahead of last season, but started to get more in the mix back with the edge rushers towards the end of spring ball. Add in the fact that his explosiveness seems to have improved as well, and a return to his old spot is probably the best case scenario.

The middle of the defensive line at the tackle spots also has some great two-deep depth. While Griffith and Tell will be the starters, FIU transfer Jordan Guerad could be the X-Factor on the entire defensive line. He had a modest stat line last season with the Panthers, collecting 38 tackles, 7.0 for loss, two sacks and a forced fumbles.

However, the advanced stats show that his impact goes way beyond just his basic stats. Of all the defensive linemen in the FBS that logged at least 600 snaps, Guerad's Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 81.7 ranked 17th, while his 82.6 run defense grade was seventh. Only four lineman had higher grades in both categories (one of which, ironically, was Gillotte).

Speaking of under-the-radar linemen, backup nose tackle Jared Dawson also falls under this category. Like with Tell, Dawson has been a consistent piece of the defensive line for the last two seasons, and because of the way he affects the line of scrimmage for others to make plays, he doesn't get enough credit. His impact goes beyond was his seven TFLs and 5.0 sacks over the past two years suggests.

Louisville will likely continue to rotate bodies often on the line, but it might not happen as much in the middle of the line as it will on the edges. Rene Konga, a transfer from Rutgers, doesn't have a lot of production to his name (3.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks in career), but can play inside and out. Selah Brown is someone who hasn't seen much playing time at all, and this upcoming fall camp will be crucial for him. Saadiq Clements and William "Woo" Spencer are both coming off of redshirt true freshmen years, and might not crack the main rotation until 2025 simply due to the amount of players in front of them.

Beyond the two-deep on the edges, there are two more players who have a chance to earn a role in the main rotation. Richard Kinley II is coming off a career year at Middle Tennessee, where he posted 20 tackles, 6.5 for loss, three sacks and three pass deflections. Kinley could play either spot on the edges on the line, but is more suited as a LEO.

Adonijah Green is someone who is teeming with talent as a former top-200 prospect, and has a lot of potential thanks to his athleticism. He has added a lot of weight to his frame and took some positive steps forward in spring ball, and depending on how fall camp pans out, could be someone ready to contribute this season.

The other three healthy scholarship defensive ends - Micah Carter, Maurice Davis and Xavier Porter - are probably another year away from contributing simply because of their youth and the depth on the line as a whole. Though Davis did look good in the final couple spring practices.

Notice I said "healthy" scholarship defensive ends. While I could not get confirmation on the exact injury, I was able to confirm that Mason Reiger will be out for the 2024 season. Even with the depth Louisville has, it's still a huge blow considering he has 13.0 TFLs, 6.0 sacks and three forced fumbles to his name over the last two seasons.

Put everything together, the ingredients are there for Louisville to have one of the best defensive lines not only in the ACC, but in all of college football. They have a marquee player, impact starters at multiple spots, and quality two-deep depth at all four positions on the field. Everything starts up front in the game of football, and the Cardinals' D-line should be the catalyst in potentially producing a top-25 defense in 2024.

Other Position Breakdowns:

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

(Photo of Ashton Gillotte: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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