Louisville football: 5 players who may start as backups but finish as starters

Yasir Abdullah – OLB

We’ve covered Yasir Abdullah plenty of times this offseason and for good reason.

The three-star linebacker was one of the top players in the class of 2018 for the former staff, and his elite speed makes him a dangerous weapon for Cort Dennison and Bryan Brown, Louisville’s co-defensive coordinators.

The outside linebacker wasn’t listed in the first released depth chart for Louisville football, but that doesn’t mean much of anything at this point in time, especially considered he played a lot of snaps in the spring with the starting defense.

Abdullah didn’t get much of a chance last season under Brian VanGorder, but there were numerous occasions on special teams or late in games that the “wood would be laid” and no. 22 would be the culprit.

In Bryan Brown’s new 3-4 scheme, one that relies on players getting to the ball at whatever means necessary, a player who is versatile, athletic, and speedy is greatly needed.

He’s a big hitter, who has great strength and is rangy – showing the ability to make tackles in the open field, cover running backs/tight ends, while also getting after the quarterback on blitz plays.

Outside linebacker is one of the positions that we don’t really have much of an idea who will start or how they’ll be utilized, outside of Rodjay Burns at the new CARD position, but if you go off of the depth chart, Boosie Whitlow, Gary McCrae, and Nick Okeke will be guys Abdullah will be competing against for snaps.

Whitlow and McCrae bring SEC experience and talent level to the table, but are unproven at this point in their careers, while Okeke is built similarly and does a lot of the same things that Abdullah can do.

As Ross Prophater predicts, success for Abdullah will likely start on special teams and third down, but by seasons end he could be one of the starting outside linebackers for the Cards.