LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Louisville football program has a moderate amount of expectations heading into the upcoming 2024 season. Not only were they able to go 10-4 with a berth in the ACC Championship Game in year one of the Jeff Brohm era, they inked the No. 2 transfer portal class in college football not long afterwards.
As a result, the Cardinals have a good amount of team-wide talent. While some position groups are better than others, for the most part, there isn't a glaring weakness on the roster with fall camp just on the horizon.
That being said, how do Louisville's various position groups stack up against their ACC peers? How do they compare when looked at from a national perspective? Well, thanks to long time college football expert Phil Steele, we have answers to both questions.
Steele released his annual College Football Preview magazine earlier this month, and as part of his ACC breakdown, he ranked each position group in the conference. Additionally, he also ranked the top 68 of each position group on a national level. From both perspectives, there was a lot that Steele liked from Louisville.
On the offensive side of the ball, Steele was the highest on the Cardinals' group of receivers, in which he grouped together the wide receivers and tight ends. Not only did Steele have Louisville's receiving group tied with Miami and SMU for the best in the ACC, he placed them at No. 9 nationally.
"This year they lose Jamari Thrash, Kevin Coleman Jr. and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce, but add in Caullin Lacy from South Alabama, Ja'Corey Brooks from Alabama and Mark
Redman and could be more productive," Steele wrote.
Steele was also high on Louisville's offensive line, which he ranked tied for sixth in the ACC and No. 27 nationally. The Cardinals' quarterback room, highlighted by Texas Tech transfer Tyler Shough, was placed at a tie for ninth in the ACC and 48th in the FBS.
One offensive area that Steele is not super high on the running back room, which he has outside of his top-68 nation rankings and tied for eight in the ACC. But overall, he projects the Cards to have an efficient offense.
"This year the Cards have a new QB and an improved receiving corps but do lose their top two RB's," Steele wrote. "My computer is calling for them to finish in the same range with 399 ypg and 30.0 ppg."
Over on defense, Steele is very high on two of the three position groups here, ranking Louisville's defensive line and secondary both in the top-25 of their respective position groups. The latter comes in at No. 4 in the ACC and No. 17 nationally, while the former is also fourth in the league while 19th in the country.
While the Cardinals' linebacker room didn't crack the top-25 nationally, Steele placed them at No. 30 in the FBS and tied for fourth in the ACC. It goes without saying that Steele likes what Louisville has on that side of the line of scrimmage.
"This year with some additions, they have 10 players that started last year including their star DE Ashton Gillotte and remain strong," he wrote.
Year two under head coach Jeff Brohm is scheduled to kick off against Austin Peay on Saturday, Aug. 31 at L&N Stadium.
(Photo via Jared Anderson – Louisville Report)
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MATTHEW MCGAVIC
McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic
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