Louisville football: Young but promising secondary should excel in 2019

The gameplan

Louisville football figures to run a 3-4 defense in 2019 under Brown. That’s what Satterfield and Brown ran at Appalachian State, and it doesn’t appear they are going to mix things up too much from what they are already good at.

Regardless of if Louisville is in 3-4 or a variation of 4-3 (as in years past), the way the secondary figures to shake out in 2019 is about the same.

Perhaps the biggest difference in the Louisville secondary this season is the way that players skillsets will be able to be used.

For instance, last year, Louisville’s corners often found themselves on an island due to lack of pressure being applied by the defensive front four. This season, the Cards plan to return to a defensive front that doesn’t play things conservatively and gets into the backfield to apply a lot more pressure.

In 2017 and 2018, Louisville’s secondary was a group of sitting ducks. When an opposing quarterback is given a lot of time to dissect the defense and make the right throws, it can be nearly impossible to not give up a slew of big plays.

Additionally, the secondary may not be needed as heavily in run support. In many of the Cards’s blowout losses, plays ended in a corner or safety chasing down a  running back or ball carrier in the open field. Under co-defensive coordinators Brown and Dennison, the Cards will try to keep those big plays to a minimum.

It seems that Louisville has the experience, talent, and depth to do so. The Cards return the bulk of their secondary after only losing safeties Dee Smith and London Iakapo. The new staff has made some adjustments to create more balance along the back of the defense and brought in a two-year graduate transfer add to experience and depth.