Louisville's Running Backs Off to Hot Start to 2024 Season

The Cardinals have gotten some serious production out of their running back room over the first two games of their season.

Aug 31, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Isaac Brown (25) runs the ball against the Austin Peay Governors during the second half at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Louisville defeated Austin Peay 62-0. / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Heading into the 2024 season, one of the biggest questions regarding the Louisville football program was their running back position.

The Cardinals posted one of the most prolific rushing attacks in the FBS last season, led primarily by Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo. The duo rushed for a combined 1,938 yards and 24 touchdowns, helping Louisville average 178.5 rushing yards a game.

After last season, both Jordan and Guerendo departed for the NFL. This left Louisville with a running back room that - while it has plenty of potential - is relatively light on experience compared to last season, and pretty young overall. It was even to the point where running backs coach Chris Barclay challenged/motivated his group by writing a question mark next to each of their names on a whiteboard at the start of fall camp.

While Louisville hasn't played super stout competition through the first two games of their season, their running backs are already starting to reach that potential, and have had a very strong start to the year.

“Well, we like our core of running backs, and we have really from day one," head coach Jeff Brohm said after Louisville's 49-14 win over Jax State this past weekend. "They all have different elements that make them very useful and beneficial to the team. They are great teammates, they support each other. You never know who you are going to need."

Louisville thrashed Austin Peay to the tune of 62-0, then followed that up with a 49-14 victory over Jacksonville State this past weekend. In both contests, the ground game played a major role in the Cardinals' overall dominance.

Against the Governors, Louisville ran for a gaudy 293 yards, while also adding three rushing scores. The next week against the Gamecocks, they tallied 233 yards on the grounds, but also ran for five touchdowns.

It's a very small sample size, but through two games of the season, Louisville has the 14th-best rushing offense at 263.0 yards per game. Additionally, their eight rushing touchdowns is tied for ninth in the FBS.

"It gives us a lot of confidence," running back Keyjuan Brown said after the Jacksonville State game. "Just coming out here and being able to play like that, move like that, getting us ready for the big time games. Just getting ready to go out there and handle it."

What most impressive with Louisville's early prowess on the ground is that their rushing efforts haven't come from just one person. Starting running back Maurice Turner has 87 yards and a touchdown, while backup Donald Chaney Jr. run for just 21 yards and a score before suffering a high ankle sprain this past weekend.

In fact, the bulk of Louisville's rushing effort have come from their three youngest scholarship backs on the roster. Brown has tallied 116 yards and two scores up to this points, while Duke Watson has ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns, and Isaac Brown leads the charge at 166 yards and one score. When looking at national leaderboards, Watson and Isaac Brown - both of whom are true freshman - crack the top five in yards per attempt. Watson is No. 2 at 13.7 while Brown is No. 4 at 12.77.

This might change at some point in the future, but as of now, it seems that Louisville is going to continue utilizes multiple running backs in their offensive game plan. Brohm even compares his current situation to when he was an assistant under Bobby Petrino during the mid-2000's, where the Cardinals has multiple NFL-caliber backs during his time. Even though Louisville had Michael Bush, one of the great players in the history of the program, they still rotated other guys in - such as Eric Shelton and Kolby Smith - fairly often.

"It can help you and keep guys fresh. When certain guys get injured and other guys have already played, then you are going to be better. The one year we unfortunately lost Michael Bush, we had other guys who could play. Even though that was a devastating injury, he was a fantastic player, we had other guys who could play. This game Don (Chaney) went down with a high ankle sprain, we had other guys who had already played. Sometimes it can be too many, but at the same time, you know what, running backs, you have to keep them fresh. There are only so many carries you can make.

"We think we have a decent feel for what these guys are good at – what runs, screen game, perimeter game and all those things. They have been efficient and taken care of the ball and blocked fairly well. They have broken tackles. We have two true freshmen that have shown really good signs of speed and burst along with a couple of veterans. I think it is a good mixture. They all support each other. We have a bunch of tight ends too and we have some receivers. I think that we will get them all ready because you never know when you are you going to need them. You become a better football team the more you have.”

Have the running backs already erased the question marks next to their names on Barclay's whiteboard? Not quite yet, but they're working on it.

"We haven't reached our full potential yet," Keyjuan Brown said. "I felt like we could do better going into the season. It's probably still a little bit there, but it's gonna get erased."

(Photo of Isaac Brown: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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