LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the three years under head coach Scott Satterfield, Louisville has established itself as an attacking football program. Since taking office in 2019, the Cardinals have had a top-25 offense every season and averaged 446.2 yards per game last season.
But a big factor in why Louisville only finished 6-7 in 2021 was due in part to their performance on the other side of the scrimmage line. This was especially true in the secondary level, as the cards gave up 245.6 yards per game and ranked 95th in FBS in that category.
Satterfield and the rest of his staff recognized that this area of the field was in dire need of reinforcements and were aggressive in recruiting both the high school ranks and the transfer portal. Fast forward to August, and although the program is only a few days into fall camp, the retooled secondary school stands out in part for its newfound depth.
“This is the biggest improvement we’ve made in terms of recruitment compared to what we needed last year,” defense coordinator Bryan Brown said at media day in Louisville. “Guys have been hurt and guys have moved on but we have a lot of depth there now. This is the greatest depth we’ve had since I’ve been here and that helps you call football games. If you have depth. The second case guys can mark guys and be tight in mark and things like that.
Of course, Louisville brings back veterans too. Cornerback Kei’Trel Clark is back from a season-ending knee injury last year and was recently selected to the preseason All-ACC team. Starting safety Kenderick Duncan also returns, as do safetymen like Josh Minkins and cornerbacks Chandler Jones and Trey Franklin. Even redshirt newcomers like Rance Conner and Derrick Edwards have made strides forward, according to Brown.
But infusing new talent into this group could allow the secondary school to take a big step forward in 2022. Coaches have raved about MJ Griffin’s safety since he arrived from the Temple earlier this offseason. Quincy Riley was one of the best group-of-five corners in Middle Tennessee state last year, and FSU transfer corner Jarvis Brownlee Jr. has incredible potential.
So far in the early days of fall camp, depth at both corners and safety have produced incredible competition.
“Honestly, the competition is insane,” Griffin said. “We have a lot of great athletes, a lot of people who can move and a lot of people who are fast. You have to bring it every day. If you don’t, it will show. I just think the competition is really, really good at the moment and it’s getting better every day.”
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Early promising individual results on the practice field are no guarantee that the rear end of the defense will perform at a higher caliber than last year, but overall unit cohesion could do. Not only have some of Louisville’s defenders demonstrated high levels of athleticism and execution, they’ve also built chemistry on and off the field.
“It’s probably one of the best[secondaries]I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Minkins said. “We are all on the same page and we always meet together. and I just like to see how everyone plays. I want to see if I can go out and feel good. A rotation is good for us because when we are tired you can take a breather. It’s easy to have people play whatever you want.”
Time will tell if the secondary school as a whole will maintain this pace through fall camp, but at least it’s hard not to be optimistic that they’ll do better than last year. Louisville’s season could depend on them making a big step forward.
The Cardinals begin the 2022 season on Saturday, September 3 when they travel to upstate New York to face Syracuse.
(Photo by Kei’Trel Clark: Sam Upshaw Jr. – Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
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