Louisville football ended their 2024 season 9-4 and secured their third consecutive season with eight wins or more, and their second consecutive year of nine wins or more.
Just this morning the Cardinals hired their new wide receivers coach, Deion Branch, and promoted him from player development. Branch will replace Garrick McGee, who went and joinedBill Belichick at North Carolina, and will now lead this elite wide receiver group.
The Cardinals offense was ranked in the top 20 in the nation averaging 450 yards per game, and was top 10 in points per game averaging 36.5 points per game. UofL was the only school to score 24 points or more in every game this season.
Branch will be the main man in charge and try and take Chris Bell, and transfer portal additions in T.J. McWilliams and Bobby Golden to that next level, however the Cardinals unsung hero will age like fine wine from this hiring and become a potential All-American.
Louisville football unsung hero will have All-American season
Ja'Corey Brooks was the Cardinals main wide receiver in the 2024 season, where he brought in 61 catches for 1,013 yards and nine touchdowns. He was first team All-ACC, due to his five 100-yard receiving games, and became the Cardinals first wide receiver since 2022 to record 1,000+ receiving yards.
Brooks was the first UofL wide receiver to score two or more touchdowns in consecutive games since 2010. His receiving yards finished 27th nationally, and 20th in touchdowns. Branch will need to find the Cardinals next main deep ball threat with Brooks entering the NFL draft, and their is a clear target who that player should be.
Caullin Lacy was limited to an injury last season, but still was able to bring 18 catches for 196 yards and a touchdown. Lacy was becoming a dominant weapon and an unstoppable beast on the outside for the Cardinals as in his four games healthy in regular season he had 15 catches for 179 yards.
Three of those games he registered four or more catches and 50 or more yards. His best game came up against Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the National Championship runner-up, as he hauled in five catches for 71 yards, including a 34 yard catch.
Lacy has only played one year at Louisville, as the years prior he was on South Alabama. In 2023 he had 91 catches for 1,316 yards and seven touchdowns. His 1,316 receiving yards ranked seventh in the country, and his 91 receptions ranked eighth in the nation.
Deion Branch is a wide receiver legend in Louisville history as he had 2,204 total receiving yards, which is ranked seven in program history and and has 18 touchdowns which is No. 4 in Cardinals history.
Branch played along side Tom Brady and Branch won the 2004 Super Bowl MVP, as he had 11 catches for 133 yards. Branch's experience and wisdom will be second to none and this hiring will benefit Lacy to allow him to take that next step.
Lacy speed, quickness, and vision is one of the best in the nation, and is one of college football's biggest deep ball threats. He is an electric playmaker and once the ball is in his hands he is an immediate threat to the defense.
He has minor weakness is his route running and and inconsistency, however under Deion Branch Caullin Lacy will quickly become a major threat to the opponents secondary, and will look to take off in 2025, and has not just All-ACC potential, but All-American potential.