RB Jawhar Jordan Serving as Louisville's Early Offensive Spark Plug

Through the first third of the season, a large reason for Louisville's proficiency on offense has been the explosiveness and efficiency of their starting running back.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Early in the 2023 season, the Louisville football program has boasted one of the top offenses in all of college football. Through four games, the Cardinals have the No. 5 total offense in the FBS at 542.0 yards per game, and the No. 9 scoring offense at 43.0 points per game.

Of course, a lot of this has been a byproduct of the traditional facets of a Jeff Brohm-led offense. Quarterback Jack Plummer is coming off of a career performance against Boston College, and wide receiver Jamari Thrash is proving himself to be one of the best pass catchers in the ACC.

However, arguably the biggest factor going into Louisville's early offensive success has actually been their ground game. Specifically, the efforts of running Jawhar Jordan.

"Jawhar's done a really good job," Brohm said. "He's very humble. He works really hard. He's got speed, shiftiness in the hole, and he's got really good hands."

At 237.2 rushing yards per game, Louisville has the best rushing attack in the ACC, the second-best in the Power Five behind only UCF, and the fifth-best in all of the FBS. A large chunk of the yardage has come courtesy of Jordan, who at 478 rushing yards is averaging 119.5 per game. Both marks are good for eighth nationally, as is his six rushing touchdowns on the season.

What is even more impressive is how efficient he has been every time he touches the ball. Out of the 16 running backs in college football currently averaging 100 or more rushing yards per game, Jordan has the fewest carries on the season at 50. In fact, he currently leads the Power Five in yards per carry at a whopping 9.56 yards per touch, and is No. 1 in football amongst players with at least 50 carries.

Part of this efficiency has come from his pure explosiveness. So far this season, Jordan is the only player in the FBS with multiple runs of 70+ yards (two), and is tied with Marshall's Rasheen Ali for the national lead in runs of 30+ yards with five.

"Really, with Jawhar, any play could be a breakout play," offensive tackle Willie Tyler said. "I feel like we've seen that every game this year. Just the big runs that he can break, and his vision, too. When we watch the film in practice and after games, sometimes the smallest hole can break for 20, 30-plus yards. It's really great blocking for him. The whole running back group, really. They know what they need to do."

Even more impressive is the fact that Jordan's ability to score any time he touches the ball isn't just because of his blazing open field speed, which he has plenty of. Even at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, he has done a great job at absorbing, and sometimes delivering, contact.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jordan has amassed the eight-most yards after contact amongst Power Five running backs with 245. He's currently averaging 4.90 yards after contact per attempt, according to PFF, which is good for 21st nationally among P5 backs.

"It's all about consistency, just staying consistent with it," Jordan said after the Boston College game when asked about his ability to absorb contact and generate yards after contact. "I feel like I have a lot to prove. I feel like I'm one of the best backs in the nation, and I just want to come out here every week and prove it."

On top of his capabilities as a runner, the all-purpose back has also looked great as a pass catcher out of the backfield and on kickoff returns. Also catching six passes for 133 yards and a touchdown, he is currently third in the nation in yards from scrimmaged per game at 152.8. Add in his 63 yards on a pair of kickoff returns, he's first in the Power Five second in the nation in all purpose yards at 168.5 per game.

At this point, the only thing that Brohm wants Jordan to "improve on" is just maintaining the same level of determination for the entire season.

"I think anytime you're playing well, you've got to just make sure you still have that same hunger, and that you're identifying whatever weaknesses that have shown up and you're working hard to improve it," he said. "Continuing to work hard, going as hard and as fast as he can at all times, and being solid in every aspect of running, catching, and blocking. Just a small thing, but he's done everything we've asked to this day, and I think he'll continue to improve.

Fortunately, it doesn't sound like this is something that Brohm has to worry about. Ever since he arrived on campus as a transfer from Syracuse prior to the 2021 season, he has kept the underdog mindset, and is continually wanting to go out prove doubters - if any exist at this point - wrong.

"I just feel like I'm still underrated and honestly, I like it like that," he said. "I want to be the underdog. I want to keep working. I'm going to keep staying down and keep proving myself week by week."

(Photo of Jawhar Jordan: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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