Louisville HC Jeff Brohm Provides Injury Update on Josh Minkins, Maurice Turner

When the Louisville football program took on Murray State last week, the Cardinals did so without two key players at their disposal. Both starting safety Josh Minkins and backup running back Maurice Turner had to spend the matchup -  a lopsided 56-0 victory - on the sideline.

With the Cardinals now setting their sights a neutral site matchup with Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., head coach Jeff Brohm provided an updated for both players during his weekly press conference.

Following the rout of Murray State last Thursday, Brohm revealed that Minkins had suffered - and played through - a hamstring injury in their season-opener against Georgia Tech the week before. Minkins was not dressed for the game against the Racers, and his status for the showdown with the Hoosiers is still in question.

"When it comes to Josh, we're continuing to try to progress him," Brohm said. "Whether he's ready for the game or not, it's still too early to tell."

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound safety logged a team-high seven tackles in Louisville's 39-34 win over Georgia Tech. Currently in his fourth year with the program, the COVID junior is coming off of a career year in 2022. Starting all 13 games last season, he finished with the fifth-most tackles on the team with 55, while also collecting two tackles for loss, a sack, an interceptions and three pass breakups.

As for Turner, his outlook for this weekend is a little more positive. Unlike Minkins, Turner was dressed for the matchup against Murray State, but held out as a precaution for his unspecified injury. Brohm is optimistic that he will play against IU.

"Maurice probably could have played if we wanted," Brohm said. "We wanted to get him a little more healthy with his injury. I do think that he will be able to go this week, which is important to be able to utilize him."

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back had seven carries for 30 yards against the Yellow Jackets in the opener. As a true freshman last season, Turner received extensive run during the back half of the season. In eight games, he rushed for 314 yards on 65 carries, including 160 yards in the Fenway Bowl against Cincinnati, which was the most rushing yards by a Cardinal all season.

Kickoff against the Hoosiers is set for Saturday, Sept. 16 at 12:00 p.m. EST.