Five Questions Heading Into Louisville's Fall Camp

Here are the five biggest questions surrounding the Cardinals as they begin fall practice.

Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm watches spring practice. / Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At this point in time, it seems like Louisville football's bowl game against USC to end the 2023 season was years ago. But the long and torturous offseason is almost in the rear view mirror.

The Cardinals are set to begin fall camp, their second one under head coach Jeff Brohm, on Wednesday, July 31, ahead of their 2024 season-opener against Austin Peay on Saturday, Aug. 31.

Heading into Brohm's second season at the helm, there are no shortage of storylines. Here are five of our biggest questions surrounding the Louisville football program heading into the start of fall camp:

Who wins the battle for the backup quarterback spot?

As far as the starting quarterback spot goes, there's no question who Louisville is going to go with at this point. Texas Tech/Oregon transfer Tyler Shough has the most experience on the roster, has displayed a high level of playmaking ability with both his arm and legs at his prior two stops, and shined during spring ball for the Cardinals.

But considering Shough's injury history during his time with the Red Raiders, having a viable option at backup QB could be an important component of Louisville's success in 2024. Who will that next guy up be? Brohm says that's to-be-determined.

"We'll always have competition there," Brohm said last month. "Sometimes you kind of gauge and see what are certain strengths of each player. ... Then unfortunately, if some someone goes down like your starter, the next guy has to be ready to go in there and win the game for you."

While Brohm hasn't declared there to be a "clear cut" No. 2 option on the depth chart, he did say that Pierce Clarkson is the one who is "the next guy in" after Shough. Though he did note that he's also liked what he has seen out of both Harrison Bailey and Brady Allen.

Regardless of who is officially declared QB2, Brohm added that Louisville plans on having multiple packages at the ready, and that "they're all going to play" at some point. Still, in a worst-case scenario, having an established backup that can seamlessly take over the reigns of the offense will be a crucial component to this season.

How do the post-spring additions at defensive line impact Louisville's efficiency up front?

Last offseason, Louisville made a concerted effort to bolster their offensive line through the spring transfer portal window. This year, the Cardinals did the exact same thing, but with the defensive line. That being said, both moves were done for completely different reasons.

During spring ball in 2023, it was obvious that the offensive line needed some improvements during the second portal window, as they were seemingly getting beat with regularity at times. But during this past spring, focusing on the defensive line was simply a proactive effort to bolster their depth and elevate their overall play.

As a result, the Cardinals brought in four players who should be ready to contribute immediately this upcoming season. Myles Jernigan was a multi-year starter at edge rusher with Cal, Tramel Logan was the same at USF, as was Richard Kinely II as Middle Tennessee. Rene Konga also brings a fair amount of experience with him at both the edge and interior during his time at Rutgers.

This quartet of transfers are already joining a line that helped the Cardinals post the No. 9 rushing defense and No. 21 total defense in the FBS. Impact returners like Ashton Gillotte and Dezmond Tell are back, and first window transfers like Thor Griffith and Jordan Guerad are sure to be impactful additions as well.

Three of the four starters on the line are essentially pencilled in right not in Gillotte, Griffith and Guerad/Tell. The one that's up for grabs at the moment is the LEO spot opposite of Gillotte, which makes sense considering three of the four spring portal linemen are edge rushers.

At the bare minimum, Louisville will have ample competition to earn that final starting spot. But on top of that, the depth on the edges is in a much better spot than this time last year, and should allow the Cardinals to rotate more often on the line and keep players fresh.

Can the passing game take the step forward they are capable of taking?

During his time as a head coach at both Western Kentucky and Purdue, Brohm has been known for his high-flying passing offenses. While Louisville's passing attack wasn't bad last season per se, it wasn't nearly what it could have been, finishing 56th nationally in passing yards per game - the lowest in Brohm's career as a head coach.

A variety of factors were at play here. QB Jack Plummer, despite the fact that he was named Third-Team All-ACC, made several mistakes that a super senior normally doesn't make. Outside of Jamari Thrash, no wide receiver established themselves as a reliable game-to-game option. The tight end room had almost zero collegiate pass catching experience entering the 2023 season.

Entering 2024, it appears that the vertical passing game should be a staple of Louisville's offense. As previously noted, Shough shined during spring ball and regularly put on display his arm strength. Transfer wide receiver additions Caullin Lacy and Ja'Corey Brooks both have plenty of experience, and Chris Bell seems to have taken a step forward. The tight end room now has a few viable options in the passing game, highlighted by transfers Mark Redman and Jaleel Skinner, plus returner Jamari Johnson.

On paper, this appears to be a passing game that should be able to stretch the field with regularity. But of course, with this many new faces, building chemistry on the field and camaraderie off of it is of the utmost importance. Louisville's players recognize this, and have been working hard in this area over the summer ahead of fall camp.

"This whole summer has been crucial. ... I really, really enjoy the offense," Tyler Shough said at the ACC Football Kickoff. "Building that chemistry, but you're still practicing. I think this whole summer has been better (for building chemistry) on and off the field. Watching film, throwing to guys, it's been really excellent."

Does the defense as a whole have the quality depth to prevent a late season slide?

During the 2023 season, there's no question that Louisville was a team who was led by their defense. They finished with the No. 9 rushing defense, the No. 10 third down defense, the No. 21 total defense and the No. 33 scoring defense.

However, in the final month of the season, they were not nearly as effective. Over the first nine games of the season, Louisville allowed just 285.2 yards of offense and 16.3 points per game. But over their final five, they surrendered 374.4 yards and 30.2 points per game.

Part of this can be attributed to natural attrition that occurs over the course of a football season. While Louisville didn't have extreme depth issues, and did have a handful of injuries afflict them, it's clear that they could have been much deeper.

Fast forward to the present, and Louisville has made huge strides in this department. Both their defensive line and secondary are some of the deepest in the ACC, and while linebacker is still the "weak spot" on this defense, it's not a complete hinderance.

Does that mean that they will be able to finish? Well, while Brohm has spoken multiple times this offseason at how much he likes Louisville's defense, he doesn't attribute their depth for their late season slide.

"I think that keeping your key guys healthy is always important, to do the best job we can, but occasionally we had some things happen," he said at the ACC Football Kickoff. "We've got depth, and I'm not going to blame last year's losses on a lack of depth. I think that we just didn't coach well, and play well enough."

Can Louisville repeat their success from year one under Brohm?

As fans know by now, Louisville had an extremely successful first year with Jeff Brohm as the head coach. He guided them to a 10-4 record for their first 10-win season in a decade, while also getting them to their first ever appearance in the ACC Championship Game.

With that first season under their belt, and the success they've had yet again in the transfer portal, the Cardinals are generating a lot of local and national buzz heading into the 2024 season. But can they put together a season that's just as fruitful?

When you compare the rosters between the 2023 and 2024 season, one could make the argument that the only position group where Louisville did not improve or break even in is at running back. But that alone doesn't guarantee a return trip to Charlotee for the ACC title game.

For starters, Louisville's schedule is much tougher this season. While they do have seven games in which they will be clear favorites and should comfortably win, their five others games will be stiff tests. Their top three games - where they have to travel to Notre Dame and Clemson and host Miami - are arguably harder than any of their games from last season.

There exists a world in which Louisville does have a better team than last year's but have a worse regular season win-loss record. Even still, Brohm thinks they can accomplish big things in 2024.

"While we had some good success last year, 10-1 at one point, we lost our last three games," he said earlier this month. "I think because of that, there's a lot of things to learn, a lot of areas to improve. I think it's caused the hunger to get back in right away and understand if you want to be really good, you have to beat big-time opponents and find a way to win close games."

(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA)

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