Louisville football returns a ton of talent to an offense looking to gain consistent footing in the 2022 season. A quick look at the roster and potential depth chart entering the season.
Although a bowl game still lies ahead, it is never too early to look at where the future of Louisville football is headed. Now that the Cardinals have signed a group in the early signing period, it’s time to look forward to what is in store for the Louisville football offense.
Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield called the 2021 regular season a “very disappointing 6-6, quite honestly. We’ve got high expectations for this program. We want to compete for ACC Championships, and that’s what we’re headed next year. We’re going to a bowl. Any time you got to a bowl at 6-6. that’s average. We don’t want to be average in this program.”
Satterfield went on to say “we were extremely competitive, obviously, this year, but that’s not good enough.”
This season, most of the Louisville football fanbase was critical of Satterfield. From his off-field flirtation with South Carolina in the offseason to inexcusable losses during the season, many fans had enough. We even wrote that Satterfield’s words no longer carried weight like they used to. Satterfield’s words in 2020 and 2021 often contradicted what he said in his first year and a half in The Ville.
Much of that narrative began to fade on December 15th when Satterfield snagged some surprising signing day recruits and spoke passionately to the Louisville media.
However, Louisville’s play on the field will ultimately dictate Satterfield’s future as well as the future of the program. That starts with improvements that need to be made to the Louisville football offense in the offseason.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at where the Louisville football roster stands heading into 2022, including a very early look at the potential depth chart.
Quarterback
Malik Cunningham*
Evan Conley or
Brock Domann or
Khalib Johnson
First and foremost, the Louisville football offense will get one last ride with quarterback Malik Cunningham at the helm.
Cunningham finished 2021 with 19 rushing touchdowns- Good for 4th in the nation. He also passed for over 2,700 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air.
Though it was rumored that Cunningham was potentially headed elsewhere in 2022, he announced that he was staying in early December.
“First, just the way we finished this season,” Cunningham said on why he decided to stay in Louisville. “I want to go out, for my last year, with a better record than we did in the past. We got a lot of players coming back, and I just want to develop more on being a quarterback – which I did this year – but just take it to another level. Get some of those win backs, those close ones that we left out there.”
Cunningham was on a lot of people’s radars after a 300+ yard passing and 200+ yard rushing night en route to 6 TDs in 3 quarters at Duke. However, all season Cunningham was a steady presence as a true duel threat.
This season, Cunningham has a chance to rise to the ranks of all-time Louisville football greats. In order to do so, however, he will have to lead the Cards to more victories in late-game situations.
Running Back
Jalen Mitchell* or
Trevion Cooley or
Tiyon Evans
Jawhar Jordan
Aidan Robbins
Louisville is likely to have a three-headed monster at running back next season. Like other positions on this offense, the staff finally has a running back room full of only their recruits. The group of Trevion Cooley, Tiyon Evans, and Jalen Mitchell figure to be in a tight race for the starting spot next season.
It was Mitchell who got the start in each game this season, and with good reason. Mitchell led the running backs in rushing yards with 722 yards and total yards with 843. Late in the season, Mitchell became known for his ability to start games off as the hot hand. Against Syracuse and Duke, he ripped off long gains on opening drives that set Louisville football up in good field position. Mitchell provides a consistent workhorse for the staff that seems to improve each game.
On Mitchell’s heels in 2021 was true freshman Trevion Cooley- Perhaps the most talented back of the bunch. Cooley led the team with a gaudy 5.0 yards per carry and also hauled in 142 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. If Mitchell is option 1, Cooley feels like option 1A at this point.
While losing Hassan Hall from the running back room is a substantial hit, Louisville football did well to replace him with Tennessee transfer Tiyon Evans. It feels like Evans has only begun to show the world what he is capable of. He rushed for 521 yards in 6 games and 1 play before he went out with an injury against Kentucky. A JUCO transfer, Evans averaged 6.4 yards per carry last season which, if eligible, would have put him at 12th in the country and 5th among power 5 players.
Louisville rounds out the backfield with two specialists who have flashed signs of excellence. Aidan Robbins has been a steady presence in the Louisville football backfield since his arrival and the Manual product could be utilized a lot more in goal-line sets or as a change of pace back. Meanwhile, Syracuse transfer Jawhar Jordan jumps off the page as a potential stud. A speedy back, Jordan will find time on the field this season as either some eye candy as a speedster in the backfield or returning kick-offs.
Wide Receiver
Tyler Harrell
Demetrius Cannon
TJ Lewis
Dee Wiggins
Chris Bell or
Chance Morrow
Braden Smith*
Ahmari Huggins-Bruce
Devaughn Mortimer
Maurice Turner
Much was made in this recruiting cycle about Louisville football bringing in (at least) 6 new scholarship wide receivers.
However, the fact is that the Cardinals were in desperate need of a restocking of the cupboard. After the departures of Jordan Watkins and Justin Marshall and graduations of Shai Werts and Josh Johnson, Louisville is left with just four scholarship receivers entering the First Responders Bowl. One of whom, Meechie Cannon, has never caught a pass in a college game.
Louisville does plan to return Braden Smith, its most versatile slot weapon, to the fold in 2022. Smith was injured just four games into the season but recorded a reception touchdown and a punt return touchdown prior to his injury.
Additionally, Louisville will return big-play weapons Tyler Harrell and Ahmari Huggins-Bruce. Harrell and AHB combined for 9 TDs and nearly 900 yards in 2021. Additionally, Harrell averaged over 31 yards per reception in 2021, a trend that Louisville coaches are certainly hoping to see continue in 2022.
Harrell and Huggins-Bruce have elite-level speed. Harrell figures to be a factor on Sundays one day. Additionally, Louisville will add a couple of burners to the fold in incoming freshmen Chris Bell and Devaughn Mortimer. While Bell doesn’t have elite-level track speed, he still clocked a respectable 22.54 second 200-meter time in 2021. Bell stands out because of his ridiculous verticle and overall athleticism. He is a polished receiver who should compete for playing time this season. Meanwhile, Mortimer is just fast-fast. He clocked a 10.7 100-meter time this year, which is comparable to some of the better high-level college and NFL players today. Mortimer is bound to break onto the scene sooner rather than later for the same reason that Huggins-Bruce did in 2021: speed and instinctual play-making ability.
Louisville football also adds Miami transfer Dee Wiggins to the wide receiver room for one season. Wiggins, most notably for Louisville fans, recorded two touchdown catches in a forgettable blowout loss at Miami in Satterfield’s first season. Wiggins brings seniority and sure-handed ability to a Louisville receiver room that needs a third-down playmaker and is also a potential big-play threat.
Rounding out the receiver room, Louisville returns redshirt freshman and former quarterback TJ Lewis. The Cards also added potential future playmakers Chance Morrow and Maurice Turner in the 2022 class.
H-Back/ Tight End
Marshon Ford*
Isaac Martin*
Dez Melton*
Christian Pedersen
Nate Kurisky
If you want to credit Satterfield and staff for doing a phenomenal job of recruiting and developing, it has to be the tight end room.
Louisville football has consistently found diamonds in the rough on the recruiting trail and converted them to versatile tight ends, H-backs, and all-purpose backs.
Look no further than former walk-ons Marshon Ford and Isaac Martin. The duo- out of Louisville Ballard and Trinity, respectively- have been instrumental in helping UofL become one of the more balanced offensive attacks in the ACC. Now, Martin will look to key Louisville almost exclusively as an underappreciated tough-nosed run blocker in his fifth season with a program. Ford, meanwhile, led the team in receptions and reception yards in 2021. He will likely be one of the better tight ends in the ACC in his fourth year.
While Ford and Martin have become known for their consistency and blockers and playmakers, the Louisville football staff has worked diligently to bring in more modern playmaking weapons at tight end.
The more athletic pass-catchers among the tight end group are the youngest among the bunch. This is certainly indicative of how the staff plans to work in tight ends in the future. While Ford and Martin were Petrino recruits, Dez Melton, Christian Pedersen, Nate Kurisky are Satterfield-era recruits that bring wide receiver skillsets.
Look for Melton to be the breakout player among the “next up” group.
Offensive Line
LT- Trevor Reid*
Kobe Baynes or
Tim Lawson
LG- Caleb Chandler*
Luke Kandra
Aaron Gunn
C- Bryan Hudson*
Austin Collins
RG- Adonis Boone*
Josh Black
RT- Renato Brown*
Michael Gonzalez
While there are questions at some of the offensive skill positions in 2022, it feels like the Louisville football offensive line has less turnover and uncertainty than ever before.
The Cardinals graduate center Cole Bentley, a mainstay for years on the line, they return Bryan Hudson- who split time with Bentley in the middle in 2021.
2021 got off to a rough start for the offensive line unit under first-year head coach Jack Bicknell. However, by midseason, the offensive line was as solid of a unit as any for Louisville football. The offensive line took a sharp uptick in the second half, making way for more than 300 yards twice and 200+ yards in 6 of the final 8 games.
Additionally, the offensive line only allowed 18 sacks all season, including only 8 over the last 8 games. Louisville ranked 20th in the nation in passing down sack rate in 2021 after being ranked 99th in 2020 and 107th in 2019.
The return of 5 de facto starters as well as all of their back-ups from 2021 bodes extremely well for a Louisville football team with a darkhorse Heisman candidate and a loaded running back room.
Coaching and continuity
Finally, Louisville football has the ability to step things up a notch in 2022 simply by executing at more important times of the game.
Louisville ranked 20th in the country in total offense in 2021, yet boasted only a 6-6 record. The Cardinals also finished the season with a +2 turnover margin. good for 61st in the country. Among teams in the top 50 in the nation in college football in total offense, only 4 finished at or below .500 in 2021: Texas, Florida, USC, and Louisville. So, what gives?
One could argue that it all comes down to consistency and taking advantage of opportunities when presented. Louisville surrendered 4th quarter leads to Wake Forest, Virginia, NC State, and Clemson in 2021. If the Cardinals are able to hold onto leads in just two of those games, the perception of the season is much different. The reality of the situation, however, is that they didn’t. Because of it, Louisville football is in a state of uncertainty and Satterfield is in a position where he needs to execute to prevent any further discussion about his job being on the line.
Interim AD Josh Heird mentioned that Louisville football is looking into hiring a former player in a position similar to Director of Player Development. Louisville will also be looking to replace Tight Ends and Special Teams coach Stu Holt and Co-Defensive Coordinator, Cort Dennison. According to multiple reports, Holt and strength coach Mike Sirignano are making moves away from the program this offseason. Dennison was dismissed from the program during the season.
This means that Louisville football is looking to hire at least three coaches. One of these coaches seems likely to be Louisville’s new offensive coordinator. After losing OC and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford to the Atlanta Falcons last offseason, Satterfield took over the primary play-calling duties in 2021. However, it felt last season like Louisville football was missing some key momentum-seizing calls that would have better taken advantage of the players the Cardinals had at their disposal.
“We feel like the changes we are gonna be making as we move forward that’s gonna get us over the hump,” Satterfield said. “Not only with this class right here and some of the pieces that we’re gonna be adding to the puzzle, but some of the changes that we’ll be making in the building.”
One last shuffling of the coaching staff and a bit of a culture shift could make a massive difference for an offense that needs to take the next step in 2022.
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