Louisville football: 20 year statistical record close to being shattered

Louisville football continues to surprise at every turn in Satterfield’s first season, but there’s one overlooked stat that should make every fan take notice.

Ask a Louisville football fan to name their favorite offensive back throughout the years, and you’ll probably receive a different name from every person. Why is that?

Although there have been numerous standout wide receivers and running backs to come through our favorite university, very few have truly separated themselves on the stat sheet.

It’s been 12 years since the Louisville football program had a receiver eclipse the 1,000-yard mark and 9 years for the last running back to accomplish the same.

Think about it for a second.

We as Louisville fans have been blessed to watch talented players at both the running back and receiver positions over the years, including several notable tandems’ who played together.

Duos like Eric Shelton and J.R. Russell, Harry Douglas and Michael Bush, Dominique Brown and DeVante Parker, Brandon Radcliff and James Quick, and even more recently Malik Williams/Reggie Bonnafon and Jaylen Smith.

Yet even with all of that talent, according to Louisville statistician extraordinaire Kelly Dickey, Louisville football has somehow gone nearly 20 full years without a receiver and running back both going over 1,000 yards in the same season.

It’s shocking to consider just how much talent Louisville has had at the running back and wide receiver on the field at the same time, only to come up short of statistical performances that are considered “milestones” for their positions. While there have been three 1,000 yard rushing seasons (by running backs) and five 1,000 yard receivers, no tandem has been able to do it in the same year since Frank Moreau and Arnold Jackson did it in 1999.

In just his first season as head coach for the Louisville football program, Scott Satterfield’s team has two players on track to not only pass but crush this feat – Javian Hawkins and Tutu Atwell. Hawkins, who has been the “workhorse” back for Louisville in his redshirt freshman season already has accounted for 887 yards on 165 carries, including six touchdowns. While Atwell has caught 41 passes for 668 yards (second in the ACC) and seven touchdowns.

Even with their smaller statures at just 5’9, 183 pounds and 5’9, 153 pounds respectively, Hawkins and Atwell have been one of the most dynamic duos in the last decade-plus for Louisville football, providing speed and versatility that we haven’t seen in quite some time. They’re both also a huge reason why the Cards currently sit at 5-3 on the season and have a legitimate chance to make a run at the 2020 Orange Bowl.

So how did it happen?

We knew coming into the year that whoever was at running back for Louisville was likely going to surpass the 1,000-yard mark, becoming the first to do so (at the RB position) since Bilal Powell in 2010. But most of the preseason hype was directed in the way of Hassan Hall, who finished as the team’s lead back last season and looked like the next great player to step into the position for Satterfield.

Ultimately it was Hawkins who got the nod, and despite being one of the smaller players on the field, he’s shown the ability to be a workhorse back capable of giving you 100-plus yards on any given Saturday.

Through eight games, Hawkins has already gone over the 100-yard mark five times, including rushing for a career-high 172 yards in a win against Boston College as well as becoming the first player to rush for over 100 yards in quite some time versus Clemson going for 129 yards and a touchdown.

Speaking on Javian Hawkins, Scott Satterfield has nothing but positive things to say about his lead back:

"“He’s a workhorse. He loves it. As a running back, sometimes you just get in those grooves and they just start feeling it. They start seeing it. They start running like a horse and he was tonight. I’m so proud of him. He’s a guy who never says a word. He just comes to work every day. He’s strong. He’s not really big, he’s 185, 190 pounds. But he runs like he’s a 210 pound back and he’s hard to tackle.”"

For Atwell, he’s become the “swiss army knife” that the offense desperately needs. Whether it’s catching passes over the middle of the field, going deep, or even taking screen passes out of the backfield, the sophomore wide receiver has been nearly impossible to stop.

While there has been a revolving door at the quarterback position between Jawon Pass, Micale Cunningham, and Evan Conley – each guy has quickly found a connection with Atwell and it’s a huge reason why Louisville’s offense has averaged 226.5 yards through the air per game.

His speed adds a dimension to the Louisville offense which was evident in his touchdown this past weekend against Virginia as well as countless others. Scott Satterfield has said plenty of times and proven it to be true on the field, that you just have to get the ball into Atwell’s hands and he knows what to do it with.

Dwayne Ledford, Louisville’s offensive line coach who also doubles as the Louisville offensive coordinator knows how special of a player Atwell is and just how important he is to the offense.

"“We could hand him the ball and he could play quarterback, Ledford said. “Every play he could be doing something on offense because he’s that type of player. And so you’ve got to make an effort to make sure you’re not just wearing him down before the game’s over.”"

Satterfield is showing everyone how good he is at getting the most out of his offensive talent, and that’s with juggling an ever-changing QB situation.

As the program begins to land more talent that the coaching staff see fit their system, Louisville football could break plenty of records down the line.