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Louisville football head coach Jeff Brohm Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports

Burning Summer Questions for Louisville's Position Groups

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Jul 11, 2025 6:00 AM ET

As we head into year three of the Jeff Brohm era of the Louisville football program, there is a certainly a lot of hype surrounding the Cardinals. They've consistently been tabbed as a preseason top 25 team, and have been generating some ACC contender buzz.

On top of this hype, there are also some questions to go along with it. Can the team make a return trip to the ACC Championship Game? Are they really a threat to crack the College Football Playoff? Will they avoid an upset like Pitt in 2023 and Stanford in 2024?

While these are questions that have to do with the team as a whole, today, we will be taking each of Louisville's position groups, and looking at a top question/storyline regarding it as we progress through the summer and into the 2025 season.

Quarterbacks: Can Miller Moss have a consistent final season in college?

Last season, Moss put up good numbers at USC, completing 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns to nine interceptions. That being said, head coach Lincoln Riley did bench him for the final three games of the season. While Moss was a bit of a scapegoat for USC's bigger issues, he wasn't perfect during the end of his tenure with the Trojans, throwing 10 touchdowns but seven interceptions in the month of October. Sure, based off his performance in spring ball, Moss certainly looks like he's in for a bounce back. He just has to go out there and put it together on game day.

Running Backs: What is the ceiling for the dynamic duo of Isaac Brown and Duke Watson?

Both Isaac Brown and Duke Watson burst onto the scenes last year as true freshmen. Brown rushed for 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns to be named the ACC Offensive and Overall Rookie of the Year, while Watson ran for 597 yards and seven touchdowns. This came despite the fact that these two started the 2024 season third and fourth on the depth chart. Brown did not become the starter until a month into the season, and Watson didn't get double digit carries until the 10th game of the year. On top of the natural year-over-year progression, now that these two will begin 2025 at the top of the depth chart, the sky could be the limit for Brown and Watson.

Wide Receivers: Who win win the battle for the third starting spot?

Louisville enters the 2025 season with one of the best one-two punches at wide receiver. Chris Bell is coming off of a career year where he caught 43 passes for 737 yards and four touchdowns, and Caullin Lacy is now fully healthy after missing most of last season with a broken collarbone. As far as who will start alongside them a up for grabs. Dacari Collins had solid ACC experience at NC State and Clemson. TreyShun Hurry is coming off of a productive season at San Jose State. Even returner Antonio Meeks looks like he has taken a massive step forward in spring ball. This is one of the many position battles in fall camp that I'll keep a close eye on.

Tight Ends: Will it be tight end by committee, or will someone separate themselves?

The tight end position did take a step forward in 2024, but there wasn't a bona fide TE1 like we have seen in previous Brohm offenses at WKU and Purdue. Entering this season, Louisville's there are three guys who could earn that title. Nate Kurisky has been an underrated and underused asset over the last couple years. Jaleel Skinner is teeming with athleticism and potential, and seems to have taken a step forward with consistency. Jacob Stewart was one of the better tight ends in the Mountain West last year at San Jose State. While rotating these three will certainly get the job done, it would do wonders for the offense if one of them could take a step forward and be "the guy" at tight end.

Offensive Line: Can the line maintain their efficiency even with the top end turnover?

An underrated aspect as to why Louisville had the offensive success they had last year was their play in the trenches, ranking in the top-25 nationally in sacks and TFLs allowed. While this unit brings back several veterans and did a solid job restocking in the portal, they do lose a few starters. Monroe Mills and Austin Collins hit the portal, while Michael Gonzalez is now in the NFL. Additionally, having a mobile quarterback and dynamic running backs masked the fact that the line was seemingly average last year by advanced stats. According to Pro Football Focus, their run blocking grade of 65.1 ranked 57th in the FBS, while their pass block grade of 67.2 was 72nd.

Defensive Line: Can the line avoid a slow start to the 2025 season?

On paper, Louisville's defensive line had the potential to be one of the most disruptive in all of college football last season. However, this unit couldn't generate consistent push at the point of attack to start the year, and struggled to contain mobile quarterback. In their first eight games against FBS opponents, defensive linemen averaged just 2.8 tackles for loss and 1.3 sacks per game. While they were able to round into form down the stretch, living up to their potential could have earned wins against Notre Dame, Miami or SMU. Once again, on paper, the line has a chance to be one of the better ones in the ACC. They just can't afford to have another slow start

Linebackers: Can the collective pass coverage efforts take a much-needed step forward?

At this point in time, Louisville's linebackers have more than proven themselves against the run. T.J. Quinn has led the team in tackles for two seasons, Stanquan Clark had a breakout 2024, and several others have the chance to be impact playmakers. But there's no denying that at times, this position group was a liability in pass coverage. In Louisville's 12 games vs. FBS competition, on throws between the numbers and less than 20 yards downfield - which is primarily covered by the linebackers - opposing quarterbacks completed 71.1 percent of their throws for 1,245 yards. There are a couple backers that do well in coverage, but this unit as a whole has to get better in this regard.

Cornerbacks: Will this unit bounce back after a near complete roster overhaul?

Louisville's cornerback room might have been the most disappointing position on the roster last year. Between injuries and inefficiency, the corners were the biggest reason why the Cardinals finished with the No. 100 passing defense. However, this position returns just one scholarship player from last season, and the room was restocked primarily with transfers from the Group of Five/FCS level. While Rodney Johnson Jr. seems to look the part after a dominant spring ball, there are still a lot of questions at cornerback considering every player here is either making a jump in competition, or a young player taking on a bigger role.

Safeties: Can this group help limit explosive passing plays?

While Louisville's safety spot was better than their cornerback counterparts, they weren't perfect either. In fact, the Cardinals ranked 120th in passing plays on 30+ yards allowed (25), 121st on passing plays of 40+ yards (14) and 127th in passing plays of 50+ yards allowed (8). A lot of these plays were due to the corners, but a fair share were because opponents were able to get past/over the safeties. In theory, Louisville should be better in this area, as they have a very good three-man rotation at safety and some decent depth behind them. But as we all know at this point, games aren't won on paper.

Related: Full Safety Position Breakdown