From The Pink Seats Podcast recaps the 2022 Louisville football defense with the lovable duo of Keith Wynne & Dave Scull.
Jacob Lane, Matt McGavic, and Vince Lococo are back and joined by Card Chronicle’s Keith Wynne & ESPN Louisville’s Dave Scull to break down the defensive side of the ball for Louisville football.
In what was the swan song for Defensive Coordinator Bryan Brown, the Cardinals defense came alive in 2022. Finishing the season 1st in team sacks and tied for 2nd in turnovers gained were a few of the major accomplishments that the veteran-laden group produced.
Led by pass-rushing monsters Yasir Abdullah and Yaya Diaby along with steady linebackers MoMo Sanogo and Monty Montgomery, the defense was a major factor in getting to eight wins. From UCF to Wake Forest, the defense showed time and time again they could be counted on when the offense wasn’t consistent. They took over games and made Louisville football fun on that side of the ball for the first time in a long time.
Before we dive in, here are some stats to keep in mind.
Team stats
- Finished 1st in the nation with 50 sacks
Yasir Abdullah – 9.5
Yaya Diaby – 9
Ashton Gillotte – 7
Defensive line – 24 sacks
Linebackers – 23 sacks
Secondary – 3 sacks - Finished t-2nd in the nation with 30 turnovers forced
- Total defense: 24th (330.2 yards allowed per game)
- Team sacks: 1st (50 sacks – 3.85 per game)
- Team tackles for loss: 8th (7.5 per game)
- Turnovers forced: t-2nd
- Red zone: 11th (.744%)
- Pass TD (redzone): 11 total TD’s
- Run TD (redzone): 10 total TD’s
- FG’s (redzone): 11 total FG’s
- 3rd down: 21st (.331%)
- 4th down: 1st (.190%) – 4 conversions, 21 attempts
Individual defensive statistical leaders
Tackles:
- Momo Sanogo – 89 tackles
- Monty Motgomery – 70 tackles
- Jarvis Brownlee – 66 tackles
- Yasir Abdullah – 63 tackles
- Josh Minkins – 55 tackles
Sacks:
- Yasir Abdullah – 9.5 sacks
- YaYa Diaby – 9 sacks
- Ashton Gillotte – 7 sacks
- Monty Montgomery – 6 sacks
- Momo Sango – 4.5 sacks
TFLs:
- Yasir Abullah – 15.5
- YaYa Diaby – 13
- Monty Montgomery – 11
- Mason Reiger – 7
- Debo Jones/Ashton Gillotte – 6.5
INT’s:
- Quincy Riley – 3
- Jarvis Brownlee, Monty Montomgery, M.J. Griffin, Yasir Abdullah – 2
- Josh Minkins, Chandler Jones, Rance Conner, Kei’Trel Clark – 1
Fumble Recoveries:
- Momo Sanogo – 3
- Debo Jones, YaYa Diaby, Ashton Gillotte – 2
- Yasir Abdullah, Dez Tell, Rance Conner, Kei’Trel Clark, K.J. Cloyd, Mason Reiger – 1
Forced Fumbles:
- Monty Montgomery, Yasir Abdullah – 4
- Mason Reiger – 2
- M.J. Griffin, Jared Dawson, Debo Jones, Marvin Dallas, Josh Minkins, Kam Wilson, Ashton Gillotte, Caleb Banks – 1
PFF Stats (Season):
- Overall Defense: 81.8 (50th)
- Run Defense: 77.4 (T-59)
- Tackle: 50.1 (121st) – Only P5’s worse: Vanderbilt (122nd) and Colorado (131st)
- Pass Rush: 90.0 (9th)
- Cover: 67.4 (95th)
- Defenders w/ 100+ snaps played and 70.0+ (average) grade: 1) Yasir Abdullah (84.3) 2) Jared Dawson (76.5) 3)YaYa Diaby (75.3) 4) Ashton Gillotte (71.4)
Tune in as the guys give out position grades, take a look at statistics that tell a bigger picture of the defense, and talk through big storylines, players who made a impact and who underperformed, what happened in the most important games, coaching/personnel wins and losses and other details plus much more.
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