If it’s possible to glean a silver lining from Stanquan Clark’s ankle injury in Week 2 that will keep him out for most, if not all, of the season, TJ Capers appeared to be it. The former highly-rated recruit has been derailed on multiple occasions by injuries of his own, but in his redshirt sophomore season, he seemed to have a clear opportunity to fill Clark’s role on the defense.
Then, with excitement building for Capers to be unleashed out of the bye week, Kalib Perry got the start next to veteran linebacker TJ Quinn, filling Clark’s role at will linebacker against Bowling Green. Both played significant snaps on Saturday, but Perry had the edge with 34 to Capers’ 28.
TJ Capers needs an expanded role after Week 4 performance
In those snaps, Capers was the more productive player, recording five tackles with three solo to Perry’s three and 0.5 tackle for loss. Perry missed a tackle, his third of the season, and the most on the team. He currently has a 25 percent missed tackle rate through three games, while Capers has yet to miss a tackle.
Capers came into the year as the backup middle linebacker behind Quinn, and that’s where Brohm kept him after Clark’s injury, but it’s time for co-defensive coordinators Mark Hagen and Ron English to take the training wheels off their talented young linebacker and allow him to play a full allotment of 40 or more defensive snaps in ACC play.
Louisville’s linebacker depth is one of the defense’s biggest strengths, and that took a major hit when Clark went down, so working Perry into the rotation with Quinn and Capers will be important for the Cardinals the rest of the way, but giving him the start and more snaps than the talented redshirt sophomore could eventually become a costly mistake.
Louisville rolled to a blowout win over Bowling Green in Week 4, but the Falcons were able to move the ball effectively. Eddie George’s team managed 321 yards of total offense and 6.2 yards per play. Jeff and Brian Brohm’s offense answered with 439 yards and 9.5 yards per play, making defensive concerns a moot point, but against ACC defenses, the offense may not be so efficient.
With Clemson falling to 1-3 to start the season, the kings of the ACC have been knocked off their throne. Along with the Tigers’ struggles, SMU, the conference’s other CFP participant from a season ago, lost its second game of the year in Week 4.
Miami and Florida State are both top 10 teams heading into conference play, but the ACC is wide open for the Cardinals to sneak into the mix. But the defense will have to improve to keep pace with those teams, and Capers has the best chance of developing into a game-changing player, so the coaching staff should take a chance on that upside.