Louisville's M.J. Griffin 'Fully' Healthy, Renato Brown 'Close' to 100 Percent

Griffin had to miss the Cardinals' entire 2023 season due to injury, while Brown was sidelined for the second half.

Louisville safety M.J. Griffin (26) / Jared Anderson - Louisville Report

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program is in line to get two massive pieces of their roster back from injury ahead of the 2024 season.

Head coach Jeff Brohm announced Monday that safety M.J. Griffin has completely recovered from his lower leg injury, and offensive lineman Renato Brown is on track to be return from his knee injury by fall camp.

"(Griffin) is fully healed and recovered," Brohm said. "He's had a great summer. Looking forward to him having a great year. He's a really good leader, and I think he'll do a great job.

"(Brown)'s getting close to 100 percent," Brohm continued. "I think by the time we get to fall camp, he'll be there. He's still a ways to go, but he's done a really good job, and he's very valuable piece as well."

Brohm also noted that wide receiver Ja'Corey Brooks, who was limited in the spring due to a shoulder injury, is back to "full speed."

During the first week of last year's fall camp, Griffin suffered a lower leg injury that forced him to miss the entire 2023 season. As for Brown, he suffered a knee injury after slipping during pregame warmups prior to Louisville's Oct. 14 matchup at Pitt, and had to be sidelined for the remainder of the year.

Griffin played a key role in Louisville's defensive turnaround during the 2022 season. The Cardinals averaged 210.4 passing yards allowed per game before the 6-foot-1, 200-pound transfer from Temple was elevated to starter midway through the season, and averaged 188.6 afterwards.

Despite seeing meaningful defensive playing time in only eight of the 13 games that year, the Ypsilanti, Mich. native finished seventh on the team in tackles with 45, while also logging a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble in the process.

Brown had been a big part of Louisville's early season success on the offensive line. The 6-foot-4, 315-pound lineman started the first six games of the season at right guard, with the Cardinals rushing for 192.3 yards and allowing just 2.33 sacks and 5.7 tackles for loss per game during that stretch.

The West Palm Beach, Fla. native is one of the most tenured players on the Cardinals' roster. brown has started 40 games over his collegiate career, with 46 appearances and 2,355 offensive snaps played overall. Brown spent the first four years of his collegiate career at right tackle before being moved inside by the current staff.

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