Where Louisville Football's Position Groups Rank in the ACC and Nationally

Heading into the 2025 season, expectations for the Louisville football program are fairly high. They're 19-8 in their first two years under head coach Jeff Brohm, and have routinely picked to be a top-25 squad heading into year.

As you can imagine, the Cardinals have a good amount of team-wide talent. While some position groups are certainly better than others, Louisville's overall talent is fairly high.

That being said, how do Louisville's various position groups stack up against their ACC peers? How do they compare when looked at from a national perspective? Well, thanks to long time college football expert Phil Steele, we have answers to both questions.

Steele released his annual College Football Preview magazine earlier this month, and as part of his ACC breakdown, he ranked each position group in the conference. Additionally, he also ranked each position group on a national level. From both perspectives, there was a lot that Steele liked from Louisville.

On the offensive side of the ball, unsurprisingly, Steele was the highest on the Cardinals' group of running backs. Not only did he rank Louisville's running back room as the best in the ACC, he placed them at No. 4 nationally, behind only Penn State, Notre Dame and Texas.

"Isaac Brown was an all-purpose revelation as a freshman, rushing for 1,173 and catching 30 passes, Steele wrote. "The Cards return their top 3 rushers, so Brown will have plenty of help. Duke Watson is equally explosive, and Keyjuan Brown went for 243 as the third option."

But it's not just Louisville's running back room that Steele is high on. In fact, he placed the Cardinals' quarterback room, group of receivers (wide receivers and tight ends) and offensive line all as top five in the ACC and top-20 in the FBS.

Steele ranked Louisville's receiving group as the second-best in the ACC behind only Clemson, and the 12th-best unit nationally. Their offensive line comes in at fourth in the conference and 17th in the FBS, while their quarterback room - headlined by Miller Moss - was fifth in the ACC and 13th overall.

"New QB Miller Moss should be just as productive and they have my No. set of RB's. The O-Line and WR's are rebuilt, but the pieces there and this time, my computers is calling for 461 YPG and 37.3 PPG," he wrote.

Over on defense, Steele only views Louisville's linebacking corps in a relatively positive light. He tabs this unit as the third-best in the ACC behind Pitt and Clemson, and No. 18 in the nation.

"This year, they return their No. 1 tackler in T.J. Quinn, No. 2 in Stanquan Clark and No. 6 in Antonio Watts, plus have T.J. Capers and Tennessee transfer Kalib Perry in reserve, so are in the best shape in three years and are now a strength," he wrote.

As for Louisville's defensive line and secondary, Steele is not nearly as high on these positions. The latter comes in at No. 14 in the ACC and No. 71 nationally, while the former is eighth in the league while 40th in the country.

"This year they lose (Ashton) Gillotte and (Quincy) Riley, and five other starters," he wrote. "The D is led by my No. 18 LB corps, and this time my computer is calling for 351 YPG (allowed)."

Year three under head coach Jeff Brohm is scheduled to kick off against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Aug. 30 at L&N Stadium.

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