Six Standout Performances from Louisville's Fall Camp

The Cardinals' fall camp heading into year two of the Brohm era had plenty of standout performances, and these six were the most noteworthy.

Louisville’s Ja'Corey Brooks (1) runs to catch the ball during practice. / Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Practice is still ongoing, but the fall camp portion of the 2024 preseason for the Louisville football program is now complete.

With classes at the University of Louisville resuming this Monday, the Cardinals will soon phase into their regular season practice schedule in preparation for their season-opener on Aug. 31 vs. Austin Peay.

The second fall camp in the Jeff Brohm era featured several standout performances from old and new players alike, as they hope to repeat and potentially improve on their 10-4 season in 2023.

Here are six of the most noteworthy performances from fall camp, three on each side of the ball and listed in alphabetically by last name:

WR Ja'Corey Brooks

There's no doubt that losing Caullin Lacy for an "extended period of time" is a huge blow to Louisville's wide receiver room and offense as a whole. Fortunately, along with Chris Bell, Alabama transfer Ja'Corey Brooks took massive steps forward and figures to be a large factor in the passing game.

"Ja'Corey Brooks showed good things today," Brohm said early in fall camp. "I thought he made some plays today, so he's got to become a difference maker and playmaker for us."

Before being limited by an injury last season with the Crimson Tide, Brooks caught 54 passes for 866 yards and 10 touchdowns over his first two seasons in Tuscaloosa. After missing most of spring ball with a shoulder injury, Brooks looked very much like the former five-star prospect he was coming out of high school.

RB Isaac Brown

As far as Louisville's efforts on the ground go, it's likely going to be a heavy dose of both Maurice Turner and Miami transfer Donald Chaney. But based on his efforts in both spring ball and especially fall camp, it's going to be hard to keep Isaac Brown off the field.

"Isaac Brown, the true freshman, has stood out," Brohm said after the first scrimmage. "He has some Jawhar Jordan in him. He made some plays today. He's young, ball security and protecting the ball, and protecting pass plays are important, which he's got to get better at. But as far as making plays with his feet, he's a weapon."

The four-star true freshman ranked as high as the No. 8 running back in the Class of 2024 and the No. 120 prospect in the nation, and he showed why in fall camp. While it was tough at time for the running backs to find holes against the stout Louisville defensive front, Brown was the most explosive out of the group - and has a case to potentially be the fastest player on the entire roster.

DE Ashton Gillotte

Whenever walking into a spring ball or a fall camp practice, you can usually pick out very quickly the players who are a cut above the rest and will be eventually playing on Sundays. Ashton Gillotte was one of those players.

"He's taken huge steps as an edge rusher," defensive line coach Mark Hagen said. "A lot of people would argue that he's better inside rusher. I think he's good wherever we put him, and so that that is great for us, because now we can try to pinpoint an opponent where their weaknesses is, and go put our best football player (there)."

It doesn't come as a complete surprise considering that Gillotte had a 2023 season where he collected 14.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, three forced fumbles. But there were moments in the open practices where Gillotte - regardless of where he lined up - was darn near unblockable.

DL Ramon Puryear

With how deep that Louisville's defensive line is, there were certainly quite a few players in this area of the field that stood out. But the one who arguable did so the most behind Gillotte was Ramon Puryear.

"Even though Ashton's our best football player, Ramon Puryear might be our most valuable," Hagen said. "The amount of things that he can do- he backs up Ashton. He's actually started inside at three technique before, so (he has) the versatility to know multiple positions. He could probably go into the boundary and play LEO for us, too, because he's he's that right and he's that versatile."

Puryear is coming off of his best season at the collegiate level, collecting 21 tackles (10 solo), 6.0 for loss and four sacks - all of which were career-highs. Whether it was in positional drills or scrimmage periods, Puryear looked extremely explosive, and seems to be primed for a big step forward for his final year in college.

CB Quincy Riley

Like we mentioned with Gillotte, there are just some players that you can spot immediately in practice when it comes to their next level playmaking potential. Well, Riley not only fits this bill, he was arguably the best player in fall camp.

"I think (Riley)'s a guy that took full advantage of that opportunity," cornerbacks coach Steve Ellis said. "With the strength staff, the medical staff, his football IQ, understanding splits, formations, receiving tendencies, all that stuff. He really took it to another level. That's what you have to see. His leadership, the way he interacts with the guys, he is blossoming into a really good young man."

It's hard to imagine Riley looking better than he did during the 2023 season considering he had a team-best 12 pass breakups and led the ACC as a whole in pass defenses with 15, but that's exactly what he did. Not only does he look more physical and athletic, he has this next level understanding of both the defensive scheme and offensive tendencies, and was seemingly one step ahead of nearly everyone he was matched up against.

QB Tyler Shough

It's always a good sign for a team whenever your starting quarterback is one of the best performers in fall camp. Tyler Shough might not have been 100 percent perfect, but his playmaking ability was certainly on full display.

"Tyler Shough definitely made a ton of plays, but made a costly interception where he tried to force things," Brohm said after the first scrimmage. "But he can make plays. He can create a little bit, he can make plays and throw the ball vertically. He definitely has some savvy and overall did a good job."

Shough spent the last three seasons at Texas Tech after starting his career at Oregon. He has completed 63.2 percent of his throws for 4,625 yards and 36 touchdowns to 17 interceptions, along with 714 yards and 10 scores on the ground. Throughout camp, he made a number of throws that we have not seen out of a Louisville signal caller for quite some time, regularly displaying upper tier and near-effortless arm strength.

(Photo of Ja'Corey Brooks: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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