Louisville football ended its spring season Friday night as the offense defeated the defense 45-37. The Cardinals' defense led for most of the second half, and the offense scored three touchdowns in the final minutes to seal the victory. Still, both sides of the ball gave fans optimism about what will happen heading into Year 2 under head coach Jeff Brohm.
“The spring scrimmage was pretty good, a great game to watch. There were some things that weren't so great,” Brohm said. “There are definitely some things that stand out as positives, but then you see there are some things that we definitely have to work on thoroughly to get better. All of these things happened in one game. So that's good for us. We'll look into it now and learn from it. ”
Offense scores points in the usual format, defense scores through defensive stops (2 points), three-and-out or fourth-down stops (3 points), turnovers (5 points), and defensive touchdowns (7 points) Did. ).
Here are four takeaways from the Cardinals' red-white scrimmage.
About Tyler Shaw
From the moment the spring game started, quarterback Tyler Schau was ready. He started the scrimmage with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Chris Bell. The two then connected for a 45-yard touchdown to give the offense a 21-11 lead. Most of Bell's yards on the 80-yard TD came after the catch, but Shaw was adept at making deep, short passes. His throwing motions are also versatile, and the Texas Tech transfer can throw the football sideways through a small window or throw the ball down the field.
“He's got a great arm,” U of L defensive lineman Ashton Gillott said of Schau. “He can put money on the line. He can move around a little bit when he's comfortable. He's a good quarterback. I'm looking forward to seeing how that changes.”
defensive playmaker
Louisville may not have the depth they need on the defensive line, but they aren't lacking in playmakers. Defensive lineman Maurice Davis and linebacker Trent Carter are still freshmen, but played during the spring game, recording a fourth-down stop and a pass breakup, respectively.
“We have a lot of young players, so our depth is being tested right now,” Brohm said. “Maurice is a true freshman who should still be in high school, and so is Trent. They're playing against college players and good players here.”
In addition to young players, Louisville also has veterans who can help carry the load amid a lack of defensive backs. Redshirt senior cornerback Quincy Riley continued his performance after that, picking off one of Shaw's passes near the end of the first half to give the defense a 23-21 lead. After redshirt freshman defensive back Destin Cheers sacked a signal call in the second half, sophomore linebacker Stanquan Clark picked off a pass from backup quarterback Pierce Clarkson to participate.
offensive protection
Thanks to the Cardinals' offensive line, Shaw had a clean pocket on many snaps. The experienced first-team unit has added experienced players such as Jonathan Mendoza and Pete Nigula from the transfer portal. In addition to those two, the team can rely on returning players like Michael Gonzalez and Austin Collins to stop Gilot, Dez Tell and Ramon Puryear on the defensive line. Shaw and Clarkson were sacked just twice in the first half.
Collins is still filling in for Renato Brown and is recovering from a season-ending knee injury, but is expected to return before the regular season.
Running back competition continues
Although several starting positions were solidified during the spring game, there is no clear front-runner for starting back. Maurice Turner started with Shaw, but Kejuan Brown and Don Chaney joined Shaw in the backfield late in the first half.
Louisville is down one running back after Penny Boone entered the transfer portal. The move to Toledo missed much of the first-team reps during spring practice, but Turner also saw some first-team time.
Contact Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her at @Alexis_Cubit on X.
