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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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TALLAHASSEE, FL – OCTOBER 21: Quarterback James Blackman #1 of the Florida State Seminoles runs the ball down the field in front of linebacker Dorian Etheridge #17 of the Louisville Cardinals at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL – OCTOBER 21: Quarterback James Blackman #1 of the Florida State Seminoles runs the ball down the field in front of linebacker Dorian Etheridge #17 of the Louisville Cardinals at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) /

No. 4: Dorian Etheridge – Inside linebacker

Senior

  • 2019 stats: 70 tackles, 45 solo, 8 tackles for loss, 1 INT, 5 PD, 1 FR
  • 2019 BRL ranking: 10th

At No. 9 we talked about how veteran receiver Dez Fitzpatrick is one of the more under-appreciated players on the team. The Dez Fitzpatrick of the Louisville defense has to be linebacker Dorian Etheridge.

Earlier this year, former BRL contributor Alex Payton gave a breakdown of what makes Etheridge so important to this Louisville defense:

"Etheridge was fourth on the team in tackles last season, second in tackles for loss at eight. Yet again, he is another guy on the defensive side for UofL that is looking to get drafted in 2021 and he’ll need to continue growing as a signal-caller in the middle of the field, as well as a pass-rusher and coverage guy. He has the frame and looks the part of an NFL linebacker, however. He had two games last season where he recorded double-digit tackles and he’ll only look to grow that number this year as the team will have plenty of depth around him. If he can continue to improve and have more games like those, there is no reason an NFL GM won’t take a chance on Dorian Etheridge."

In defensive coordinators Bryan Brown and Cort Dennison’s system, the linebackers play a vital role, and we saw this last season as Etheridge and CJ Avery led the team in tackles.

Gap integrity is vital along a 3-4 front, and Etheridge brings excellent football IQ and knowledge of the game that will be pertinent for Louisville to take another step forward on defense this season.

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