With the Louisville football program deep into their preseason fall camp, there's no shortage of position battles. The deep running back room, and retooled secondary and wide receiver rooms - due to their inherent nature as skill positions - have generated the most buzz as the Cardinals head into the second half of camp.
But one of the more crucial position battles for Louisville is taking place in the middle of the trenches at nose tackle. Ever since Sheldon Rankins left for the NFL in 2016, the Cardinals have not had a truly impactful presence at this position. That being said, the battle between Dezmond Tell and Jermayne Lole for starter's reps could change this.
Tell is the veteran of the nose tackle group, heading into his third year with the program. The Stockbridge, Ga. native logged only nine tackles in 13 games last season, but that was when he weighed only 266 pounds heading into that year, and played around 280-85 for much of the season. With the help of new strength coach Ben Sowders, Tell is now hovering around 296-98 pounds, and has added weight in a manner that has actually helped him become more mobile.
"I feel a lot stronger gaining this weight," Tell said after Friday's practice. "I don't just feel like I've been gaining weight and just feel big on the field, I just feel like I got way stronger than I was last year. My body is equaling out the same so I can handle it, and I still got the same speed and quickness. It's really played a big role in this fall camp for me, and I'm excited for the season."
Tell was named as the starting nose tackle heading into fall camp, but is facing stiff competition from Lole, who is right behind him on the depth chart. He was forced to miss the entire 2021 due to a preseason injury this time last year, but is a bonafide NFL Draft prospect when healthy. In just four games during the Sun Devils' COVID-shortened 2020 season, he logged had 24 tackles, 5.0 for loss and 1.5 sacks.
"He's a large person that is quite light on his feet," Ivey said. "And he has strength, exceptional strength. Now, we don't have game reps yet. We've got practice reps, which are great. It's the closest thing to game reps. But if he moved any better than what he's moving (now), I can't imagine that. And if he was a whole lot stronger than what he is, I can't imagine that either."
Throughout fall camp, and even when Lole arrived in the summer, it has done nothing but light a fire under both him and Tell to give it all they have out on the practice fields. Not only does that bode well for both of them, it bodes well for the defensive line and Louisville's defense as a whole.
"There's no doubt when when somebody shows up that, you know it will take every ounce of your energy, and your focus, and your mental capacity and physical capacity, to be able to compete with that person," Ivey said. "That changes things. It makes it a lot more fun, makes it a lot more interesting.
"They both have been great about it. I've talked to both of them about it. Iron sharpens iron, we're going to make each other better. Whether you like it or not, if you don't have anybody pushing you, you can't go as hard when you know, "I've got this." There's nothing that can challenge me. It's just human nature."
Fortunately, the two have taken Ivey's advice to heart, and have not viewed their position battle against each other as adversarial. Ivey has constantly seen them studying and working together, with Tell also adding that Lole - a redshirt senior - has used his experience to mentor him when he can. With the two both competing against and working with each other, it will only lead to positive outcomes once the season starts.
“It’s going to be a lot fun to see what they can do to centers as we go into games on Fridays and Saturdays this fall,” Ivey said.
Louisville is set to conduct their first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday. The Cardinals will begin the 2022 season when they travel to upstate New York to face Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 3.
(Photo of Caleb Chandler, Dezmond Tell via University of Louisville Athletics)
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