Louisville's 2025 Midseason Position Group Grades

The 2025 regular season for the Louisville football program is now at roughly the halfway point, and it's safe to say that - for better and for worse - things haven't gone as expected for the Cardinals.

Their offense, which was expected to be the strong side of the ball, has struggled over the first month. However, their defense, which was expected to lag significantly behind the offense, has been incredible so far this season.

There have been some general inconsistencies, but the Cards are 4-1 under third year head coach Jeff Brohm. It might not be a perfect season anymore, but it's still been a (mostly) successful one so far. There have been some incredible highs, a handful of lows, and a little bit in between.

With the season at roughly the halfway point and at the second and final bye week, we here at Louisville Cardinals On SI decided to issue a report card to assess the various position groups for the Cardinals. Take a look below:

Quarterback

Midseason Grade: C-

Miller Moss has been like a box of chocolates up to this point in the season: you never know what you're going to get. On one hand, his completion percentage of 67.0 is pretty good, and his 271.6 yards per game is 18th in the FBS. However, he also has four interceptions and two fumbles, and should have a lot more thanks to his at-time questionable decision making. For two-thirds of the time he's on the field, he's done exactly what is expected of him. But for that other third, you have zero clue if it's going to be a simple incompletion, or if he'll walk into a sack or throw a boneheaded pick-six.

Running Back

Midseason Grade: C

Louisville entered the 2025 season with the anticipation that their ground game would be one of the best in college football. However, five games in, their 115.0 rushing yards per game is just 111th in the FBS. That being said, it's not all their fault. Isaac Brown and Duke Watson have both dealt with lower body injuries, which has significantly limited their explosiveness. Not to mention the line has not done them any favor (more on that later). Keyjuan Brown has done well, but that's that's because he's more equipped to handle and dish out contact. There's a lot to be desired here, but it's not all on them. I will say this though: this group's efforts in "pass blocking," especially Isaac Brown's have been awfu;

Wide Receiver

Midseason Grade: A-

While the running back duo of Brown and Watson has been disappointing, the wide receiver duo of Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy has been anything but. Bell has been playing like an All-American, and has a very real chance to break the program single-season receiving mark. Lacy hasn't gotten as much run, but has shown on offense and special teams that he is a home run threat anytime he touches the ball. You've also had guys like Dacari Collins, Kris Hughes and Antonio Meeks step up at times to make crucial plays. While there's been a few drops here and there, and TreyShun Hurry hasn't lived up to expectations, the room as a whole has done very well.

Tight End

Midseason Grade: B-

Full transparency: I do admit this position group did get a little bit of a slow start because of the injury to Nate Kurisky to start the season. That being said, the tight end spot as a whole has started to come around over the last couple games. Kurisky has made a handful of plays since returning, and Jaleel Skinner's 12 catches for 137 yards are both third on the team. But for some reason, this position group continues to not get as much involvement as they did during Brohm's days at Purdue and WKU. Not to mention I'd like to see Jacob Stewart take a step forward, and the blocking has just been meh. But all things considered, the tight ends have been good - but maybe not great.

Offensive Line

Midseason Grade: F

There's simply no nice way to put this: Louisville's offensive line has been a abject failure so far this season, and even that might be too nice. The efforts in pass blocking have been woefully inconsistent, and the run "blocking" has been flat out awful. Their 2.60 sacks allowed per game is 107th in the FBS, while their 6.40 tackles for loss allowed per game is 111th. And this has come with the coaching staff actively mixing and matching the starting five on a game-to-game basis, and even then, the line has struggled to generate push - especially at the two tackle spots. The only lineman even performing remotely well is center Pete Nygra.

Defensive Line

Midseason Grade: A

While Louisville's offensive line has been a mess, their defensive line has flourished. For starters, the Cardinals might have one of the best true edge rushers in the country in Clev Lubin. He has first round NFL Draft potential written all over him. Additionally, guys like Wesley Bailey and A.J. Green have done a great job complementing him on the edges, and the defensive tackle tandem of Rene Konga and Jordan Guerad continue to be incredibly disruptive. This unit has been the primary reason why the Cardinals are 22nd nationally in sacks per game at 2.80, and have mostly done a great job at closing rushing lanes.

Linebacker

Midseason Grade: B+

Louisville's linebacking corps deserves a lot of credit. After Stanquan Clark went down in game two, considering that he is arguably the Cards' best defender, the rest of the unit had to step up - and they have for the most part. T.J. Quinn is playing the best football of his career, taking meaningful steps forward in pass coverage while continuing to be a force against the run. You can honestly say the same for Antonio Watts at his STAR position. T.J. Capers - while he still is getting used to a being a starter - has overall done well in his new role, while Kalib Perry has been decent, although tackling has been a slight issue. Is this two deep perfect? No, but it's doing a fantastic job given that they're missing their best play.

Cornerback

Midseason Grade: B-

Prior to the season, most people (myself included) believed that this position group was the weakest on the entire roster. Sure, Louisville's cornerbacks haven't played at an All-ACC level, but they've been better than expected. A lot has been put on the plates of Tayon Holloway and Jabari Mack (564 combined defensive snap vs. 80 for the rest of the position), and they've answered the call. There have been some struggles in man coverage at times, but both Holloway and Mack - especially the former - have made up for it by playing very well in zone coverage.

Safety

Midseason Grade: A-

Not only has Louisville's cornerback room performed better when compared to expectations, their main safety rotation has been excellent. D'Angelo Hutchinson is flying all over the field making plays in coverage, JoJo Evans is an enforcer closer to the line of scrimmage, and Corey Gordon Jr. has been very good off the bench as the third man in the rotation. Not only are the main reason why Louisville's 150.4 passing yards allowed per game is 14th in the nation, they've been fantastic in terms of not giving up the big play. The Cardinals have allowed just 13 plays of 20+ yards from scrimmage, six plays of 30+ yards and just two of 40+ yards - and those marks ranks 12th, T-16th and T-12th in the FBS.