Jeff Brohm Very High on Louisville's Defense Ahead of Fall Camp

The head coach of the Cardinals is expecting big things from his defense heading into the 2024 season.

Louisville head football coach Jeff Brohm oversees practice on April 12, 2024 before the Red-White scrimmage game. / Matt Stone/The Courier Journal / USA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While Jeff Brohm is very much an offensive-minded head coach, last season during his first year as the man in charge of the Louisville football program, they were a squad that was anchored by their defense.

By the end of their 2023 campaign, the Cardinals finished with the No. 21 total defense in the FBS after allowing only 317.1 yards per game, and gave up just 21.3 points per game to rank as the 33rd scoring defense. Louisville also had the No. 9 rushing defense (99.8 rushing yards allowed per game) and the No. 10 third down defense (29.8 percent opponent rate). Not to mention that this came while that side of the ball was decidedly not as efficient over the final month of the season.

While Louisville still has a few more weeks until they kick off fall camp, and 52 more days until their season opener against Austin Peay, Brohm is already extremely high on that side of the ball based on what he has seen in spring ball and in summer workouts.

"I like our defense," he said. "I think through 10 games last year, we played at a high level, and were really, really good. We had some dominant games, and then we probably slipped a little at the very end, which is not good. But there's a lot of things that we can learn from, and we definitely have tried to utilize the last six or so months to make sure that that doesn't happen again, because I think we are talented."

Related: Watch: Louisville HC Jeff Brohm Provides Summer Update

For 2024, Louisville sports a balanced blend of returning veterans and impact playmakers brought on through the transfer portal. Returners such as All-American edge rusher Ashton Gillote and cornerback Quincy Riley are sure to be major factors this season, while newcomers like defensive tackle Thor Griffith and corner Corey Thornton will help elevate that side of the line of scrimmage.

Breaking it down into sections, Brohm likes all three areas of the defense. He believes the secondary "can be even better" than they were in 2023, and thinks they have "quite a bit of depth" on the defensive line. The only area of the field that he wants to see a little more improvement out of is the linebacking corps, but still thinks highly of that position group.

"The linebacking unit, we like, but just like last year, we had some unproven pieces that stepped up and played well," he said. "There's a mixture of both now. We've got a couple of veterans that I think will play well, and then we've got some new guys that need to step up and emerge and do a good job. But we're confident that that can be done. The depth there maybe isn't exactly where we want it, but it's continuing to improve, and sometimes you just gotta get on the field and play."

Louisville still has to make strides in fall camps and parlay their offseason momentum onto the gridiron, but Brohm is expecting big things from his defense heading into year two under his watch.

"I think we're going to be able to play a lot of guys on defense," he said. "We want to be as aggressive as we can, but yet not give up big plays, keep the score low and create turnovers. I like our pieces. Without question, I expect our defense to play very well this year."

(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Matt Stone - The Courier Journal / USA)

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