Louisville football: Why Scott Satterfield is Dabo Swinney’s biggest threat

Satterfield runs an innovative system

Louisville football players have switched coaches plenty of times in the past several years. Petrino had new coordinators going in and out of the staff. Satterfield has several of his guys from Appalachian State and has begun to implement their winning tactics.

On the offensive side of the ball, it has been the spread offense. Satterfield has gotten former NC State offensive line coach Dwyane Ledford to help run the offense and coach the line. While incorporating the option, the Cardinals ran the ball with plenty of success in 2019. They finished the year with 200 or more yards on the ground in eight games.

“I feel like we are a little bit on the front end of the curve with what we are doing. We are not just an offset back running a zone read, we have a lot of different things we are doing with that,” Satterfield said. “I think that helped us.”

On the defensive side of things, Satterfield has brought in his coordinator from Appalachian State in Bryan Brown. In their second year, the Cardinals will have a group of talented linebackers, several in hopes of an NFL career. This will also be the first time that these seniors on defense have had a returning coordinator.

Coach Satterfield believes in his system and the coaches around him, which rubs off on the players.

“I just think you have to believe in something,” Satterfield said. “… I’ve seen and been a part of offenses and/or defenses where they do a little bit of everything and can’t hang their hat on anything. To me, (then) you’re average because I think once you get good at something and your kids believe in it and your staff believes in it, it doesn’t matter how you line up over there on defense, this is going to work.”

Many wondered whether the scheme that Satterfield and company brought to Louisville would be as successful as what it was at App State, and if year one was any indication, it seems like that system could be elevated. While there were plenty of talented QB’s in Boone, there weren’t any with the abilities of guys like Micale Cunningham and incoming freshman Tee Webb, who should be able to push the system’s limits thanks to their unique abilities and allow for even more passing success.

Finding the right guys year in and year out is going to be key, as we’ve seen the system doesn’t necessarily fit anyone and everyone. Satterfield and company are looking for the best people who fit the best as players in his system, and if they can continue to elevate the level of player they pursue and land, then the program should be able to take the next step into competing with Dabo Swinney and Clemson.