Louisville football: 5 position battles to watch for this fall

Cornerback no. 2: Anthony Johnson vs. Marlon Character

The secondary was up and down in 2019 in terms of performance, but both Anthony Johnson and Marlon Character emerged into formidable starters and playmakers throughout the season playing at the second corner opposite of Chandler Jones. Combining for seven starts at corner between the two, each player provided a different skillset to the defense that Defensive Coordinators Bryan Brown and Cort Dennison did a great job of utilizing to his advantage and it resulted in 57 tackles, one interception, three tackles for loss, and one sack.

There’s a lot of excitement about both players and it goes without saying that each guy will see the field a ton and will be of the utmost importance to the defense. If you remember last season Scott Satterfield referred to Character as “probably one of our most athletic players in the secondary after he made his first start, praising his ability to hunt down offensive players and his effort overall.

The praise didn’t stop there as Brown called him the most talented player in the secondary, doubling down saying “Hands down period,” Brown said.  With Character, you’re getting a big, physical, and fast corner who proved to be a tackling machine. Three times last year he provided four or more tackles, including the five tackle, one sack game against Virginia in his first start, and 10 tackles against Syracuse.

Brown didn’t get his first start until so late as it took him a little longer to pick up the defense, but once he did you could see the lights come on. Expect that to carry over into this season, especially after having another offseason to watch film and break down his performance and the scheme overall, even in a pandemic.

ALSO READ: Way-too-early secondary depth chart preview

Johnson will be the other competitor looking to win the full-time starting role, and as he proved last year, he’s a guy capable of forcing turnovers. As more of a “traditional corner” Johnson provided solid coverage throughout the season even as he was picked on more than any other corner that I can remember last year. He performed well, providing 27 tackles, five pass break-ups, a team leading three forced fumbles, and coming up with the team’s first interception of the season against BC.

It’s always a great thing when you have players with experience competing against one another as it makes each of them better and pushes the entire team. I expect this competition to be one that brings the best out of both players and when the Cards step onto the field against NC State, whoever comes out on top will play a huge role in playing winning football.

I’m giving the slight edge to Character.