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Louisville Football: Bold Predictions for 2018-19 Season

By Jacob Lane

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - SEPTEMBER 02: Dez Fitzpatrick #87 and Jaylen Smith #9 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrate after Fitzpatrick caught a touchdown pass during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - SEPTEMBER 02: Dez Fitzpatrick #87 and Jaylen Smith #9 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrate after Fitzpatrick caught a touchdown pass during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Jon Greenard leads ACC in tackles for loss and gets 10+ sacks

As mentioned, Brian VanGorder leads a very aggressive and in your face defense especially when compared to the laid back, zone style ran last season by Peter Sermon. No one will benefit more from that new style than edge rusher and linebacker Jonathan Greenard.

Even playing a backup role behind Trevon Young and James Hearns during his redshirt sophomore season, Greenard was dominant when it came to tackles for loss. He finished the season with 15.5 TFL, which easily lead the team, and 7.0 sacks, which tied for most on the team. The 6’4, 260 pound rush linebacker was able to do all of that even with the Cards having one of their worst seasons up front on the defensive line, amidst an injury-plagued season.

The Cards will have a “bear front” in the new system of Defensive Coordinator Brian VanGorder, which means that the nose tackle and two three-tech defensive tackles will be looking to fill the interior gaps, allowing the rushers (Greenard, Iopoko, Pass, Whitlow)  to flow consistently to the ball. If newcomers Mike Boykin, Jared Goldwire, and Jarrett Jackson along with returnees GG Robinson, Derek Dorsey, and Henry Famurewa can consistently get into the gaps, Greenard could be on track for a breakout season.

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If he is going to lead the ACC in tackles for loss, which last year was done by Bradley Chubb of North Carolina State at 25, Greenard will absolutely need the other lineman and pass rushers help, as he is set to receive a lot more attention this season than he has ever seen. However, in the VanGorder defense, UofL will utilize a lot more creative blitzes, particularly out of zone coverages. This means that at any given time as many as eight defenders could be used in different blitz styles, dropping the remaining players into coverage.

There’s reason to believe that Greenard may not be ready to take the step into ACC leading territory, but it has more to do with BVG than his own talents. In one season at Auburn, and two and a half at Notre Dame, VanGorder never had a player achieve over 9 sacks while the team never eclipsed more than 26 total sacks. Not to mention words like over-complicated and impossible to learn have been used to describe the defense.

Based off what I have seen with my own two eyes over the last two seasons, I fully believe that Greenard will be dominant in his third year at UofL. While having three different defensive coordinators in three seasons is never good, I think this will be the system best used to exploit the talents of Greenard.

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