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Louisville football: The 25 most important players for 2020

By Presley Meyer

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - OCTOBER 05: Javian Hawkins #10 of the Louisville Cardinals runs the ball in the game against the Boston College Eagles at Cardinal Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - OCTOBER 05: Javian Hawkins #10 of the Louisville Cardinals runs the ball in the game against the Boston College Eagles at Cardinal Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – OCTOBER 05: Rodjay Burns #10 of the Louisville Cardinals makes a tackle near the sideline against Clinton Lynch #22 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first half of the game at Cardinal Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – OCTOBER 05: Rodjay Burns #10 of the Louisville Cardinals makes a tackle near the sideline against Clinton Lynch #22 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first half of the game at Cardinal Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

No. 14; Rodjay Burns – OLB

Redshirt senior

  • 2019 stats: 83 tackles, 11 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 FF, 1 TD
  • 2019 BRL Ranking: 15th

One of the biggest bright spots in Louisville football’s defense in 2019 was the performance and production of cornerback turned linebacker, Rodjay Burns.

Fans nearly ran Louisville’s new defensive coordinator out of town shortly after he got here after announcing that the team’s top cornerback would be moving to linebacker, doing so at 6’0, 185-pounds.

We learned to trust Brown rather quickly after seeing how perfect of a fit Burns was at his new position, called the CARD linebacker, that allowed him to use his straight line speed and athleticism as a hybrid cornerback/safety/linebacker.

Whether it was in the run game or passing game, Burns nearly made the right play every time last year – something that was rare to see considering the growing pains the defense experienced as a whole. There were growing pains at times for Burns, but for the majority of the time he spent on the field, he was pound for pound the best defensive player for Louisville.

In his first season playing the position Burns finished second on the team in tackles, recording 83 (54 solo) while also forcing 11 tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, and one defensive touchdown.

In year two, Burns impact should be even higher as he grows more comfortable with the position and packs on more muscle to deal with the bigger tight ends and offensive linemen attempting to block and that’s about as good of a thing for Louisville as possible.

Hot: Game-by-game predictions for Louisville football in 2020

Louisville’s pass rush struggled last year, and a lot of that had to do with not being able to get any pressure on the quarterback and two, the secondary not being able to cover receivers long enough for defenders to get there. I expect a lot more blitzing out of Burns this year as Brown can now rely on cornerbacks Chandler Jones and Marlon Character to handle covering pass catchers, opening up more opportunity to get after the quarterback instead of having more men in coverage.

Burns’ cover ability also allows for Brown to get more creative with how he deploys his defense in passing situations. There aren’t many linebackers who are able to cover running backs and receivers in pass coverage, but that’s exactly what Burns can do.

That versatility, combined with his experience and ability to force turnovers and you’re talking about easily one of the most important players on not only the defense but also the entire team.

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