Competition at Nose Tackle Heating Up for Louisville

With fall camp underway for the Cardinals, the battle for the starting nose tackle spot is steadily increasing, thanks in part to an increase in overall depth.

(Photo of Eric Dungey, Malik Clark: Mark Konezny - USA TODAY Sports)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When it comes to the defensive front for the Louisville football program, one of the bigger questions heading into the 2021 season revolves around the nose tackle position. Starter Jared Goldwire departed for the NFL after playing 430 snaps last season, meaning he figuratively and literally left a hole in the middle of the defensive line.

In the past, this might have been an issue for the Cardinals. Thanks to the well-documented roster mismanagement from the Bobby Petrino era, Louisville did not have the offensive and defensive line depth to properly compete at the Power Five level. This carried over into the Scott Satterfield era, with G.G. Robinson taking nearly all of the nose tackle snaps in 2019, and Goldwire doing the same in 2020.

But as the Cardinals carry onwards through fall camp in preparation for the upcoming season, the tone surrounding the nose tackle posiiton has completely changed.

"It's really entertaining right now, I mean really entertaining for these first several days," defensive line coach Mark Ivey said on day four of fall camp. "You may see a rotating starter at that position. I don't know yet, you may not, somebody may establish himself. But those three right now, it's nip and tuck every day as to who's playing better, and who's gonna be the guy that starts the next day, which is a great thing to have."

The three players in which Ivey is referencing are redshirt junior Malik Clark, graduate transfer Jacques Turner and second-year freshman Dezmond Tell. The competition has been so fierce that Ivey has already had to switch up the depth chart twice in four days.

"It's a totally different thing. GG (Robinson) was the guy, and only guy, so there was no pressure. It was always, "Hey, this is your spot", and he knew that. Then it was (Jared) Goldwire's spot, and he knew that," Ivey said. "It's a different deal when every single day, you have to compete to keep that job, or get that job back."

Back during spring practice, it seemed early that Clark would be the favorite to win the starting job, especially since Tell had to miss the entire spring due to an injury. But with the addition of Turner in April from Southern Miss, he has changed upped the competition, and impressed Ivey in the process.

"For him to be at a different place, do it in a different way for all those years, and then become here and be able to jump in and submit himself to doing it the way we're doing it in the weight room, on a practice field, in a meeting room, he's been a great addition," he said.

During his most recent campaign, 2019, Turner logged 46 total tackles (23 solo), 13.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. In 2018, where he was named a First Team All-Conference USA selection, he tallied 33 tackles (19 solo), 10 tackles for loss and five sacks. He sat out the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns.

As for Tell, he had played in every game prior to getting hurt vs. Virginia, and had even earned a start against Georgia Tech. Despite missing half the 2020 season and spring ball, Ivey says Tell is 100 percent good to go for 2021.

"His shoulder, his knees, his ankles his everything. He's playing explosive, he's playing quick, he's moving extremely well. I don't see any health issues at all, he looks great," he said. "He was sick during spring ball, because he wanted to be out there. He wanted to be earning a spot, getting his time."

But the competition at nose tackle has not been relegated to just who gets the starting job. Throw in guys like sixth-year senior Derek Dorsey, second-year freshman Jared Dawson and true freshman Caleb Banks into the mix, and the nose tackle spot is in much better hands than in years past.

Louisville will kickoff the 2021 season against Ole Miss in the annual Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. Kickoff is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 6 at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN.

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