Jared Goldwire emerges for Louisville's defense

Bryan Brown says Goldwire "was head and beyond the best defensive player" in spring practices

Jared Goldwire wasn’t the same player in spring practices compared to last season according to defensive coordinator Bryan Brown.

Goldwire, a defensive lineman for Louisville football, tallied 22 tackles in 13 games as a junior in 2019. With the departure of starting nose tackle G.G. Robinson, Goldwire assumes a larger role in his final year.

In Louisville’s spring practices that were cut short due to the global outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus), Goldwire proved his willingness to work for a larger role.

“I say this until I’m blue in the face, Jared Goldwire was a different human being these seven practices this spring,” Brown said. “I joked with him after a couple of practices, ‘When is the old Jared going to show up’ because this guy was literally different. He was a different animal.”

Brown believes the possibility of earning a starting spot motivated Goldwire early in the offseason. Brown would see Goldwire in the film room every day this spring, something he wouldn’t notice last season.

“Sometimes different kids tick in different ways and I guess with him, his was that ‘I am a backup, I don’t have to do as much or study as much,’” Brown said. “I think now that he understands that ‘I’m in that starting role by default that I need to do everything in my power to make sure I don’t give this spot up.’”

The 6-foot-6 286-pound lineman showed flashes of his ability last season. He had two tackles for a loss in Louisville’s victory over NC State in Raleigh along with a sack against Clemson.

For the first time in his college career, Goldwire has the same defensive coordinator for consecutive years. He played one season at Fort Scott Community College before enrolling at Louisville in January 2018.

Goldwire’s familiarity with Brown’s scheme helps going into his senior year. Goldwire’s consistency surprised Brown in the beginning of Louisville’s offseason.

“As soon as we got back in workouts and once we got going in practice, I said ‘he will show up a couple days’ next thing you know he is showing up every day,” Brown said. “That was great to see, and all of our kids fed off that as well. It’s exciting to see that he has stepped up and gotten better this spring.”