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Oct 12, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Louisville Cardinals running back Isaac Brown (25) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images Amber Searls-Imagn Images

2025 Louisville Football Position Breakdown: Running Back

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 6:00 AM ET

As we inch closer to the start of the 2025 college football season, Louisville Cardinals On SI will break down each individual position on the Cardinals' roster. Next in our positional breakdown series, we take at look at the running backs.

Position Roster Movement:

Returning (3): Isaac Brown, Keyjuan Brown, Duke Watson
Departing (2): Donald Chaney Jr. (Transfer - Charlotte), Maurice Turner (Transfer - Tulane)
Incoming (1): Jamarice Wilder (HS)

Projected Depth Chart:

Isaac Brown (5-9, 190, So.)
Duke Watson (6-0, 180, So.)
Keyjuan Brown (5-10, 210, R-So.)
Jamarice Wilder (5-9, 180, Fr.)
*Shammai Gates (5-11, 200, R-Fr.)

*walk-on

Breakdown:

During his time as a head coach, Jeff Brohm has long established himself as one of the top offensive-minded coaches in college football, and one that specializes in passing the ball. Prior to taking over Louisville, his teams at both Western Kentucky and Purdue lit up the scoreboard with high-flying aerial attacks.

So of course, over the first two seasons as the head coach of his alma mater, the Cardinals' rushing attack has been their calling card on that side of the ball.

Back in 2023, Jawhar Jordan had a blazing hot first half of the season, and Isaac Guerendo stepped up big time in the second half when injuries started catching up to Jordan. This duo combined to rush for 1,938 yards and 24 touchdowns, as well as catch 43 passes for 480 yards.

After both Jordan and Guerendo were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, it was assumed that Louisville would take a slight step back at running back for the 2024 season. However, not only was the position nearly as prolific as it was the season before, it helped set up the running back room to be one of the best in all of college football entering the 2025 season.

It all starts with Isaac Brown. Despite starting the 2024 season third on the depth chart, that didn't stop him from posting one of the best seasons by a true freshman in program history. By the end of the year, he rushed for 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns, and also caught 30 passes for 152 yards and a score. This came despite the fact that he didn't see double-digit carries until the fourth game of the year, and missed most of the Stanford game due to injury.

Not only did Brown break Lamar Jackson's true freshman program rushing record, he was named the ACC Offensive and Overall Rookie of the Year, and a Freshman All-American.

It's not hyperbole to say that, regardless of position, Brown is among some of the fastest players in all of college football. On top of that, he has a deadly one-cut and is overall incredibly shifty, does a very good job at reading, attacking and anticipating rushing lanes, and as the season went on, got slowly better at playing through contact. Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love and Penn State's Nicholas Singleton are usually the first two that come to mind when naming the top running backs in college football. But after that, Brown has an argument that he should be the next in line.

Having an asset like Brown in your running back room is already a massive boost to your offense. But not only did Louisville have one true freshman running back burst onto the scene last year, they had two.

Duke Watson started the season fourth on the depth chart right behind Brown, and while he didn't get nearly as much run as his fellow frosh, he more than proved his worth. Watson finished the season with 597 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, as well as five catches for 60 yards and a score. He really turned it on down the stretch, as 373 of his yards and five of his touchdowns came in the final four games of the season.

Sure, Brown is a little bit faster and is much more of a threat as a pass catcher, but Watson will still have a sizable role this upcoming season. You can make the argument that, while Brown is the more prolific of the two, Watson is the more explosive one and is more of a home-run hitter, considering his 8.91 yards per carry led all of the FBS (min. 75 percent of games played, 4.0 rushing attempts per game).

The one-two punch of Brown and Watson is without question the best running back duo in the ACC, and is arguably the second-best in all of the FBS. If Penn State's Kaytron Allen wasn't a top-five back himself, the Brown-Watson combo would likely be the best in college football. As much as Brohm likes to throw the football and as talented as the Cardinals are at quarterback and receiver, this very well could be the third-straight year in which the ground game has been the top fixture of Louisville's offense - thanks mainly to these two.

As if that wasn't enough, Louisville is also bringing back their third-leading rush from the 2024 season in Keyjuan Brown. While Brown did enter the portal during the winter window and was even briefly committed to Boise State, he later withdrew and opted to come back for his third season with the Cardinals.

Brown, who ran for 243 yards and three touchdowns and caught five passes for 53 yards last season, is the change-of-pace back for this running back room. While Isaac and Duke's respective games are predicated primarily on speed, Keyjuan is the most physical and bruising back on the roster. Plus, he has flashed good speed and agility at times.

Last season, while Isaac Brown got the bulk of the carries, it was commonplace for Brohm to alternate the running backs between drives. While it's unlikely that Keyjuan Brown will get entire drives all by himself, he'll still have a role on this team - primarily on third-and-short and goal line situations.

Rounding out the crop of scholarship running backs on the roster, Louisville is also bringing in one from out of the high school ranks in Jamarice Wilder. Flipping his commitment from James Madison this past Halloween, Wilder was ranked as the No. 1,117 prospect in the Class of 2025 by the 247Sports Composite.

Considering the talent in front of him, don't expect Wilder to get a ton of run this season - save for the second half of blowouts. His high school film shows that he has very good vision and footwork, which he did flash at times in the spring, but he does need to work on developing an extra gear in order to hold his own at the college level.

Overall, the sky seems to be the limit for Louisville at running back. They have a superstar in the making as their starter, and their backup is also a top-25 player at the position. Sure, the position isn't super deep, and an injury to either Isaac Brown or Duke Watson could potentially make things hairy for the Cardinals at the position. Even still, it would be surprising of UofL didn't end the season as one of the best rushing team in college football.