Stanquan Clark Ready to Take the Next Step for Louisville

The linebacker for the Cardinals had an impactful true freshman campaign, and is in line to take over as a starter.

Louisville Cardinals linebacker Stanquan Clark (6) / Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Last season, the Louisville football program got some very good production out of their inside linebacker position. T.J. Quinn was the breakout player for the Cardinals and wound up leading the team in tackles with 92, while Jaylin Alderman bounced back from a 2022 campaign where he had zero playing time to finish with the fourth-most tackles on the team with 62 and second most for loss with 7.0.

But someone else at inside linebacker who turned some heads last season for Louisville was Stanquan Clark. He joined the Cardinals last offseason as a true freshman as one of their top signees in the Class of 2023, coming in as the No. 377 prospect in the cycle according to the 247Sports Composite.

Due to perceived depth issues at linebacker, he wound up taking on a bigger role than most true freshman are assigned, and did very well. He wound up playing all 14 games both as a reserve on defense and on special teams, logging 15 tackles, two for loss and a forced fumbles.

"Stanquan's done a good job," linebackers coach Mark Ivey said. "To come in and play 10-15 snaps a game as a true freshman, and then play at a fairly high level- he made some plays, helped us win games, made some big plays to help us win games at times."

Quinn opted to return for his senior season to lock down one of the two starting inside linebacker spots in Louisville's 4-2-5 defensive system. But with Alderman deciding to transfer to Miami following spring ball, that has paved a way for Clark to take on an even bigger role as a starter for the upcoming 2024 season.

Ivey believes that, for a multitude of reasons, Clark is ready to take that next step that Louisville needs from him as a presumptive starter. First of all, the experience that he has under his belt as as a true freshman gives him a massive head start ahead of his second season in college. Additionally, over the summer and during the early goings of fall camp - which Louisville kicked off last week in - Ivey has liked what he hs seen.

"Stanquan Clark has grown a lot," Ivey said. "Like anything, all of us, including myself, we're all still trying to grow, improve, get better and figure things out. If he's not, you're out. ... But to be able to learn in that situation, on a 10 win season, it's going to be paramount for him this year to be highly successful, because of getting those reps in. He wasn't getting mop up duty last year, he was in there playing those 10-15 reps during real time, real situations.

"Is he 100 percent refined and polished in everywhere he needs to be? No, and he knows that. I assume he'd be the first to tell you that. But to say he's made huge strides both on the field and just being a complete package in what you want in a linebacker, I would say yes, he's doing a great job."

In addition to Ivey, Clark also believes that he's ready to take that next step and become more of an impact playmaker. But not only does he think that of himself, he believes the entire linebacking corps is prepared to show how impactful they can be.

"I've just been watching extra film, standing next to coach Ivey and getting everything together," Clark said. "As a whole linebacker group, we're all just putting in extra work with each other, so that all of us can take the next step. It's not about me, it's about all of us."

(Photo of Stanquan Clark: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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