Notes and Observations from Louisville's First Spring Practice

Spring ball is back. Here is our notebook of everything that transpired during Louisville football's first day of spring practice.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Spring ball is officially here.

On Tuesday, the Louisville football program gathered at L&N Stadium, and conducted their first of 15 sessions for their 2023 spring practice. It was also the first organized practice under new head coach Jeff Brohm.

The session open to fans and the media, and Louisville Report was there for it all to watch the first day of the Cardinals' month-long period of spring ball.

Related: Louisville Releases Injury Report for Start of Spring Practice

Considering it was the very first day of practice, there is bound to be an overreaction or two, especially since players were just in soft shell helmets and shoulder pads. That being said, below is our notebook of the more notable happenings that transpired during the first day of camp:

• Not many surprises when it came to who was running with the first team:
• Jack Plummer was obviously QB1, as is Jawhar Jordan at RB1
• Jamari Thrash and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce were the two wide receivers most regularly with the ones, although the position shuffled often throughout the day. With Jadon Thompson injured, Jimmy Calloway was the guy who was most often with Thrash and Huggins-Bruce with the ones.
• The offensive line was as expected. Michael Gonzalez at LT, UVA transfer John Paul Flores at LG, Bryan Hudson at C, Joshua Black at RG and Renato Brown at RT
• The first team tight ends appear to be Frances Sherman and walk-on Josh Lifson, but Jamari Johnson is firmly in the mix as well.
• A bit of a surprise at one spot on the defensive line. Dezmond Tell and Jermayne Lole are the two in the middle, and Ashton Gillotte is at one defensive end spot. But at the standing defensive end spot (the LEO) was Popeye Williams and not Stephen Herron - who barely saw the field at all.
• For now, K.J. Cloyd and T.J. Quinn is starting the inside linebacker duo. Benjamin Perry is also the guy at STAR, unsurprisingly.
• At corner was Jarvis Brownlee Jr., and Trey Franklin saw a lot of run with the ones since Quincy Riley is hurt.
• M.J. Griffin manned down one half of the backend at safety, with Baylor transfer Devin Neal holding down the spot that would normally be occupied by Josh Minkins, who is also hurt.
• Jack Plummer certainly looks the part of a starting quarterback at the Power Five level. He regularly displayed a snappy and smooth release with a tight spiral, and delivered a handful of balls into small windows in both drills and 7-on-7 and 11-on-11s. He also seems a little more mobile - in the sense of navigating the pocket and extending plays - than expected.
• Out of the backup quarterbacks, the one that seems to deliver the most consistently accurate ball was, surprisingly, Khalib Johnson. Not that Evan Conley or Brock Domann didn't look good, but when they did deliver an off-line throw, it was very noticeable.
• Tight end Jamari Johnson will see the field sooner rather than later, and could even become the starter by season's end. He's got the intangibles - height, muscular build and overall athleticism - that no other tight end on the roster has. No matter who was covering him during practice, he seemed to always be open. Not to mention he put on display this pass rush-like swim move to get open a few times.
• Jamari Thrash is every bit as fast as advertised. The Georgia State transfer wide receiver has this top end gear that very few players on the team - if any - can match, and put that on display a couple times on go routes in 7-on-7s. It also helps that he has good hands and a solid catch radius.
• While Johnson certainly shined, arguably the most impressive true freshman on the field was wide receiver William Fowles. Most freshmen can sometimes struggle with the increase in physicality from high school to college, but Fowles was fighting hard and holding his own all afternoon, and looked consistent in doing so.
• Of course Jawhar Jordan is still the starting running back, and looked every bit as shifty as he did towards the end of the 2022 season, but he won't dominate the snaps at the position. Isaac Guerendo and Maurice Turner got plenty of run as well, and they looked solid too. All three seemed to be transitioning well to the new power running attack under Brohm as opposed to the zone running scheme under Satterfield.
• Two guys that look even more built than they did last season are Ashton Gillotte and Popeye Williams. Gillotte won the majority of his pass rush snaps and will likely become the face of the front seven, and Williams - at least in terms of body tone - looks like Yasir Abdullah-light.
• Any lingering injury concern for former Arizona State defensive tackle Jermayne Lole should be put down. He seems to be comfortable both in general, and in the new scheme.
• On the subject of the defensive line: while Lole and Dezmond Tell are the starters, Ramon Puryear took some snaps in the middle with the ones late in the practice during 11-on-11's. Jared Dawson and Tawfiq Thomas also got in the mix at times.
• Benjamin Perry is a natural at STAR, the new defensive scheme's safety/hybrid position. Perry spent almost the entire practice taking reps in coverage, and didn't have any noticeable busts.
• Cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and backup STAR Gilbert Frierson showed a lot of fight during early 7-on-7's, and give off "pest" vibes to opposing receivers. On back-to-back plays during the period, Brownlee got an impressive interception and Frierson tipped a ball that was picked by corner Marquis Groves-Killebrew. Former Baylor safety Devin Neal also had a solid hit midway through practice.
• There weren't a lot of special teams snaps, but placekicker Brock Travelstead did take a fair amount of snaps at punter.
• Overall, there weren't any position groups that immediately stood out as a massive weak link on the team. Were there positions that performed better than others? Yes. Are there positions that could use to add another key piece via the portal following spring ball? Also yes. That being said, there isn't a spot on this team - as least as of right now - that will single-handedly lose games for Louisville.

(Photo via University of Louisville Athletics)

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