Louisville football: Young but promising secondary should excel in 2019

The Weapons

Though Louisville football has released an official depth chart prior to the start of fall practice, we give our thoughts on what the depth chart could look like.

Intuition tells us that there could be some shake-ups at a few key positions.

Cornerback

Anthony Johnson (R-So.)

Cornelius Sturghill (Graduate)

or

Marlon Character (Jr.) 

or

Justin Ford (So.)

Though Cornelius Sturghill is currently listed as a starter, we are extremely high on the rising sophomore Anthony Johnson. He finished last season strong and may be the team’s best lockdown corner. Sturghill brings electrifying speed, but his play in 2018 was inconsistent at best. However, under a new coaching staff, perhaps Sturghill is the right man for the job.

Marlon Character was expected to be a guy who broke through last season as a JUCO transfer, but we never truly saw his game blossom. Should Johnson or Sturghill be unable to go, Character should be seen as a more than adequate back-up who provides experienced depth.

Safety

Russ Yeast (Jr.)

Isaiah Hayes (Grad Transfer, Arizona)

Trenell Troutman (So.)

or

Kaheem Roach (R-So.)

This is a position where anything could happen, and that couldn’t be more of a positive for the coaching staff.

Russ Yeast spent his first two seasons at cornerback, where the new coaching staff felt he just wasn’t a good fit. Yeast often looked out of position at corner and was on the transfer market for much of the winter following Petrino’s departure. The new staff talked him in to coming back, and he finds himself squarely in the driver’s seat to start at safety- a spot where he played well in the spring and notched two interceptions during the spring game.

The biggest diamond in the rough in the secondary this season is Isaiah Hayes, a graduate transfer from Arizona. If there’s a guy that is gunning for Yeast’s starting spot, it may be Hayes who has 58 career tackles in only 16 career games played. Hayes still has two years of eligibility left and could be a true difference-maker for the Cards.

Trenell Troutman and Khaeem Roach are a bit longer shots to earn serious playing time, but they were both very highly-regarded recruits with serious athleticism. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff utilizes Troutman, one of the quickest athletes on the team.

Safety

Khane Pass (R-Sr.)

Tre’Sean Smith (Jr.)

Telly Plummer (So.)

The free safety position will be one of the more interesting position battles for the Cards because of the talent and experience of Tre’Sean Smith and Khane Pass. Smith played behind Pass for much of 2018 after coming into the fall practice still nursing an injury.

Pass is the more durable of the two safeties and was solid as a starter last season. However, Smith seems like the player with the higher ceiling. He is a prototypical free safety in that he has a good nose for the ball and operates well as a big, strong, athletic last line of defense. As the season nears, Pass and Smith would both be great options as the starting free safety, and regardless of who wins the spot, both will demand playing time.

Plummer is still a year away for competing for the starting job, however, when given the opportunity, he was a reliable option in 2018.

Corner

Chandler Jones (So.)

P.J. Mbanasor (R-Sr.)

Chandler Jones is the full package at the other corner position for the Cards and looks to become one of the premier corners in the ACC this season. If Louisville is going to take a step forward in 2019, having Johnson and Jones starting at the corners would be a great way to give some young talented guys a ton of experience.

Jones was one of Louisville’s highest-rated recruits in the 2018 class and proved right away why he had offers from schools like Mississippi State and South Carolina. His mixture of pure athleticism along with knowledge for the game was a small bright spot on a Louisville defense that was one of the worst in the country.

https://twitter.com/1OfficialCJ/status/1074035145215262721?s=20

PJ Mbanasor, the transfer from Oklahoma, figures to push Jones for the starting spot. He didn’t get a shot to truly showcase his talent and experience in 2018 but still accounted for 18 tackles, a pass broken up, and an interception.

The staff wanted to rely on Mbanasor to step in and be a leader right away on a team that had to replace all four starters in the secondary, but the learning curve seemed to make for a tough transition. Still, in what players have described as an easy to learn system, maybe Mbanasor will make the jump many thought he could last season.