Way-too-early Louisville football depth chart preview: Defensive line

Louisville football: The next men up

DE- Zach Edwards, RS Fr

DE- Derek Dorsey RS Sr

DE – Malik Clark

DT- Jared Dawson, Fr

DT- Dezmond Tell, Fr

The next men up are guys that are going to figure into the depth chart but some of it may be situational in 2020.

Look for one or two of these guys to work his way onto the second-string and a couple of players to see the four-game max and potentially take a redshirt season. This obviously depends on the health of the guys in front of them as well.

Defensive end Derek Dorsey has done some really nice things for the Cards throughout his career and will provide valuable experience on both the defensive line and special teams as a senior. It’ll be an uphill battle for him to land a role-playing significant snaps but as we’ve seen before with him, he’ll surprise you with a big play at a crucial time.

On the other side is redshirt freshman Zach Edwards, who our own Jacob Lane wrote could be in line to follow the “Javian Hawkins” pathway from redshirt to star in one year. The former highly-touted three-star linebacker who chose the Cards over the likes of LSU, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State. After playing in a limited role in four games, Edwards has a real opportunity to move his way up the depth chart and become a primary back up or even a starter.

The talent, size, athleticism, and intangibles are all there with Edwards and he’s a guy who can add to what was a fairly weak pass rush. He’s up to 265 pounds now and has had a full season of getting adjusted to the speed of the college game, all while learning the defensive system, and getting stronger.

After a few snaps against Wake Forest last season, defensive coordinator Bryan Brown gave us a small insight into what he believed could be the future for Edwards, saying:

“If we’re able to redshirt him and have him for the next four years, watch out because he’s going to be something special.”

Another guy who could have a bit more of a prominent role in 2020 is Malik Clark, who played in several contests last season finishing with 11 total tackles along with three tackles for loss. Playing at 290, Clark will likely play mostly behind Jared Goldwire this season, which will give Mark Ivey another body with experience out there against quality teams.

Louisville’s biggest defense weakness in my opinion was the lack of pass rush and part of that was the lack of fresh bodies. Clark will provide that and more in his redshirt sophomore season and I think he’s a guy who could surprise us.

Two other players who are in line to compete for snaps on the defensive line are freshmen Jared Dawson and Dez Tell. Both players were apart of the 2020 recruiting class and were considered to be “big gets” for the staff as they focused on restocking the depth on their defensive line.

Much like with Bryant and Boykin, both Dawson and Tell will have the opportunity to compete for immediate playing time due to exactly what I mentioned with Clark beforehand. The Louisville staff has said they like to rotate as many as 12 defensive linemen at any given time, which means that there will be an ample number of snaps, even if it comes in a redshirt season.

Both guys will probably be brought along slowly, much like with what we saw with Edwards last season, but that doesn’t mean they won’t provide impact on and off the field. Both players come to campus with a ton of potential bringing freakish athleticism, high motors, and run-stuffing ability,

Getting adjusted to the speed of the game and getting familar with the coaches/scheme will take time, especially due to the lack of hands-on coaching over summer, but each player will provide value to the defense.