Behind Enemy Lines: Five Questions for Inside The Panthers' Stephen Thompson

Ahead of Louisville's matchup with Pitt, Louisville Report sat down with Stephen Thompson of Inside The Panthers to find out more about the Panthers.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After capturing a massive win against Notre Dame in front of a record home crowd, the Louisville football program is heading back on the road and resuming conference play for another primetime matchup, traveling to the Steel City to face Pitt.

Ahead of the matchup, Louisville Report sat down with Stephen Thompson of Inside The Panthers to find out more about the Panthers:

1. What is the overall vibe surrounding the Pitt program right now? Many expected this to be a top-five team in the ACC, but it has been anything but a good start to the season.

It’s been pretty despondent for most of the season but recently things have taken a turn. This has been the more disappointing (a word I’m using carefully because there has rarely been these high of preseason expectations and this hard a fall from grace when the games started) seasons in recent memory. There are some reasons for hope, however. The defense still has loads of potential and is mixing in some promising young pieces. The calls for Phil Jurkovec to be benched have been answered and Christian Veilleux’s introduction as starter has given the fan base a shot in the arm. And it’s gone under-noticed in my opinion that true freshman receiver Kenny Johnson has been elevated to a co-starter on the depth chart and will likely be a full-time starter on gamedays. These changes won’t likely result in many more wins in the second half, but the development of those young pieces at least gives fans a reason to follow this team through the end of the year.

2. With Phil Jurkovec getting benched, how would you describe the overall skill set of new starting quarterback Christian Veilleux? What have you seen out of him from his limited in-game reps?

In Veilleux you’re going to see a quarterback who throws a much prettier ball than Jurkovec. In his lone game action against North Carolina, accuracy was a problem but you can definitely tell there’s some of that ambiguous “arm talent” that people like to reference - more tight spirals and zip coming out of his hand. He’s more of a pocket passer than Jurkovec was and I’m interested to see how he commands the offense with two week’s worth of full-time preparation underneath his belt and a full game to work with, because the early returns in injury-induced action against North Carolina were not very promising.

3. Obviously Jurkovec has had his struggles, but how have the plethora of injures at offensive line impacted the overall flow of the offense?

It’s been really detrimental, not just to the quarterback play but to the running game as well. Pat Narduzzi and the rest of the coaching staff have cited it frequently when they talk about the struggles of the offense as a whole, which have been hard to parse when Jurkovec was playing so apparently poorly. But as the weeks wear on it’s easier to see how losing Ryan Jacoby and Matt Goncalves - a first-team All-ACC selection in the preseason - for the year and Jake Kradel for the past two weeks have made the job more difficult for whoever is under center or running the ball. Pitt has been one of the worst offensive lines in the country this year but has played the past two games with the same starting five and I expect them to make it three in a row against Louisville. It’s an old adage that continuity is the greatest indicator of success for a college offensive line and I think with more time, this unit should improve for Pitt.

4. Even with the season Pitt has had so far, their defense is still statistically one of the best in the ACC, especially in the front seven when it comes to getting pressure in the backfield. Who are some names to watch for on this side of the line of scrimmage?

Safety Donovan McMillon entered the starting lineup in Week 3 and is now far and away the leading tackler with 44 stops (the next highest total is 29) and a pass defended. Middle linebacker Shayne Simon might be the most complete player on the defense, with great size and strength to stop the run, solid pass coverage skills as a former outside player and intelligence to top it all off. Dayton Hayes and Bam Brima (five sacks combined) are dangerous as a bookend defensive end duo and Deandre Jules and David Green have come on strong as two first-time starters. The cornerback room entered the year as what was supposed to be one of the best units in the ACC, but we’re waiting for M.J. Devonshire to live up to some lofty preseason expectations. Look out for Kyle Louis and Braylan Lovelace as well, a pair of true freshmen linebackers who have made rare appearances in the rotation despite being so young.

5. What is the one thing that Pitt must do if they are to pull off the upset?

The Panthers have to take better care of the ball before they can do anything else. They’ve averaged two turnovers per game against FBS competition this season, all have been losses. They are 39-6 under Narduzzi when they win the turnover battle and have not done that since beating FCS Wofford in Week 1. That’s a tall order for Veilleux in his first start to take perfect care of the ball, so the defense is going to have to cut him some slack and create some takeaways themselves.

(Photo via Michael Longo - For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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