Louisville football: 3 newcomers who should see the field

Lovie Jenkins – Safety

As bad as the defensive line and overall pass rush have been for Louisville through four games, they haven’t been the worst on the field for the Cards, or even close. That has unfortunately fallen on the safety position opposite of senior Russ Yeast, who is quietly having a nice season, where senior Isaiah Hayes and redshirt junior Jack Fagot have struggled (that’s putting it lightly) just about every single week.

After having an entire offseason (and some) to watch the film on Scott Satterfield’s Cardinals, it’s clear that opposing coaches have found a mismatch at the safety spot and they’ve continued to attack it time and time again. It’s worked, and because of it multiple big plays (cough, Miami, cough) have been given up that have essentially been the nail in the coffin in multiple games.

Tackling and the ability to cover receivers have been the primary issues thus far, and while you’d like to think that practice may solve those, it just makes you wonder if maybe those guys aren’t at the level that Louisville needs in order to move forward.

Whether it’s been coming up in run or being used to drop back in coverage, both have been a major liability and now it’s time for Brown and Satterfield to make changes. While multiple highly-touted safeties are currently committed and sitting in the class of 2021 (set to enroll in January), there aren’t many options for Louisville this season.

However, there is Lovie Jenkins who one of Louisville’s most well-regarded recruits from the class of 2020. After decommitting from Tennessee, Jenkins chose the Cards over Miami, Notre Dame, NC State, Purdue, and others, and a big part of that was the likelihood of seeing the field early.

Jenkins has been listed on the depth chart in 2020 primarily as the backup to Yeast, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be able to see the field in another role. Much like with the defensive line and pass rush, the safeties group needs an in injection of hard-hitting and turnover forcing ability; something they clearly don’t have now.

Jenkins is projected to be that type of player long-term, but though he may not be up to snuff on technique and the exact in’s and out’s of the defense – he’s got to be a better option than what we’ve seen thus far.

What’s missing, aside from not whiffing on big plays, is a more ferocious approach centered on keeping defenses in front and attacking the football as well as not allowing big passing plays over the top. In order to do that you need players who are able to quickly pursue the football and make the tackle, as well as being capable of covering receivers one-on-one or in space and getting hands on passes for interceptions.

It may not be his natural position or even the position he’s going to play long-term, but getting Jenkins involved on the defense sooner rather than later is going to be crucial to Louisville’s ability to improve defensively.