Watch: Jeff Brohm, Richard Owens and Louisville Players Preview Georgia Tech

The head coach of the Cardinals, as well as offensive line coach Richard Owens, center Pete Nygra and linebacker/safety Benjamin Perry met with the media to discuss their upcoming matchup vs. the Yellow Jackets.

Aug 31, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm watches during warmups before facing off against the Austin Peay Governors at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Coming off of their first bye week of the 2024 season, the Louisville football program has looked dominant to start the year, out-scoring Austin Peat and Jax State 111-to-14 over their first two games.

Next up, Louisville hosts Georgia Tech in their ACC opener. Kickoff against the Yellow Jackets is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21 at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Prior to their upcoming matchup, head coach Jeff Brohm, offensive line coach Richard Owens, center Pete Nygra and linebacker/safety Benjamin Perry took time to meet with the media. They discussed the previous game vs. Jax State, previewed the upcoming game vs. Georgia Tech, and more.

Below is the partial transcript from Brohm's press conference, as well as the videos from Owens, Nygra and Perry's press conference:

Head Coach Jeff Brohm

(Opening Statement)

“We’re excited to get back to playing football, especially at home versus a really good opponent. (Georgia Tech) has done a great job so far this year so we know we have our hands full. We’re going against a team that’s very efficient on offense, in the passing and running game. They’re physical at the point of attack, control the football, and play solid defense throughout so we have to play well. We had a good week of practice but we’re looking to get back on the field.”

(On the bye week)

“We have two bye weeks this year, which I don’t love but they’re there so we try and get our guys fresh and healthy which we did. It’s important that they know that we have an important stretch of games coming up that we have to be ready for. We have to continue to progress to reach our ultimate goal and you’ve got to be sharp each week. Getting guys fresh and healthy and rejuvenated was important while we continue to work on certain things and continue to get our young guys some reps. That’s what we did but now we’re back on a normal routine and schedule. As far as studying other teams and opponents, we study teams that are doing well and see if we can add anything. Hopefully we can use some of that to help us get better.”

(On mobile quarterbacks and Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King)

“That’s the challenge. In college football it’s challenging when you have a mobile quarterback that can throw and run and you have to plan for it and be good at it. No, we were not great at stopping the quarterback in the run game in the first half last week. We made some adjustments and I thought we did a better job in the second half. When you have that extra blocker and he’s a threat to run the ball, you’ve got to account for him. First off in the passing game, you can’t allow him a lot of rushing lanes, the ability to scramble and get yards, or to run the quarterback draw and get yards. We have to prevent that as well as we can. Of course you have the design quarterback runs, quarterback pulls, misdirection, and they’re going to motion quite a bit every play with their slot receivers and create some eye candy for you. You’ve got to know where the ball is and where the quarterback is. Did he hand it off or did he keep it? They also like to get on the perimeter with some quick screens and quick throws to the flat. That means you have to defend the width of the field and be good in your perimeter defense against this team. In my opinion that’s where college football has gone. You have to be able to defend the perimeter against good offenses and not allow them to get outside, make them run the ball up the middle which this team will. This is a good counter team and they run the ball at you as well. The perimeter is where a lot of big plays happen though so we have to be better at containing that.”

(On Tyler Shough so far)

“He’s done a great job so far without question. He’s been very efficient. He can throw the ball and he’s practiced well since he’s been here so I think he understands what we’re doing and how to do it. Now we’re going to face some really good football teams that are going to challenge him more and he’ll have to be good in his decision making. Not turning the ball over, not taking sacks and not creating negative plays and still being able to stand in there and make throws with people coming at him. I think he can do that but every week is a chance to prove yourself. Whether you’re 2-0 or 0-2, you’ve got to prove yourself next week and he’ll have plenty of tests coming up in the near future, starting with this one where he’s got to perform well for us to win.”

(On Georgia Tech in second year under Brent Key)

“Well they have a veteran quarterback - it starts there. [Haynes King] is very efficient in what he does and he can run the football, so that gives you a lot of options, and they utilize those with a lot of misdirection. They run the ball downhill as well and they display the head coach’s personality: being physical at the point of attack and running the ball at you, making you defend that as well with some play action off of us. They do a good job of controlling the football and getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly and being efficient with that. At the same time, I think they’re better on defense this year. They’ve made some changes there, you can notice it on film, they’ve done a good job each week. So, I think it’s a very balanced football team that doesn't beat itself, that will challenge other teams to play harder, more physical than they do, and if you can’t step up to that challenge, then they’re going to win the game.”

(On Georgia Tech having played two ACC games already)

“They’re battle tested, without question. They’ve proven that they can play some good football, so I give the credit where credit is due. They’ve done a really good job. The one game they lost, they lost by three points, on the road, against a good opponent. So this is a good football team and you can tell by watching on video, looking at their win-loss record, they’ve got good players, they’ve got some veterans. So, yes, this is a challenging football team that we’re going to have to play good football to win and I think that’s how it’s going to work in this conference. I do think there’s a lot of parody, I think there’s a lot of teams that can beat anybody on a given day. I think we found a way last year to win some games in the fourth quarter because we just hung in there and continued to battle and that’s what it’s going to be. I told our team the other day, ‘this is starting a long run of games where it’s going to be four quarters of back-and-forth and if you’re not mentally and physically ready to get that done, you’re not going to win.’ So, we’ve got to be able to withstand the momentum swings and hang in there and continue to fight to the end and hope that we’re good enough to win when it’s all said and done.”

(On Ashton Gillotte and ability to move him around)

“Ashton can do a lot of things for us. He can rush on the outside. He’s physical, he’s strong, he’s got some quick twitch as well. I think when he can power rush and add the speed at the end, that’s when he is his most effective. But, I do think isolating him at times on the inside is beneficial as well. So we definitely have packages to move him around. We want to try to let him, now that conference play is starting and he's going to be asked to do a lot, I think it’s time for him to continue to rise up and showcase what he can do. He shows it to us everyday in practice and we’ve seen it, and I’m hopeful that now everyone else can see it and that he’s going to be challenged this week. I have full confidence he can do a good job.”

(On the progression of the tight ends)

“Without question, I think we have built the tight end position up and it is an improvement. We have some experience, we have some youth that has developed to a certain degree that will continue to get better. Mark [Redman] provides us experience; he’s understanding what we’re doing and he’s doing a good job. Jamari [Johnson] is a year wiser and older and can do some really good things too; he’s very athletic and I think he’ll continue to get better. Then Nate [Kurisky] has been here and he understands our system and can block well. And then we’ve got two other athletic tight ends that have played in Izayah [Cummings] and Jaleel [Skinner] that can run and catch the football. So, I do think that we will be tested more as we continue to progress, starting this week, and those guys need to show up. I think that for our quarterback to have success, he has to feel comfortable throwing to the tight ends, throwing in between the hashes and these guys have got to provide us a weapon.”

Offensive Line Coach Richard Owens

Center Pete Nygra

Linebacker/Safety Benjamin Perry

(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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