Louisville football player picks up another preseason accolade

The Louisville football team is going to have to rely on their defense early in the year. Their offense has to get figured out with all of the new skill players. Still, this is a team that should be able to compete for an ACC title and their defense is a big reason for that.

That side of the ball is where the Cardinals' best player resides. Ashton Gillotte is the best pass rusher on the team. He's quite possibly the best pass rusher in the country. Gillotte has already racked up a bunch of preseason accolades and is on various preseason award watchlists.

Gillotte is returning as a senior and had double-digit sacks last year. He is a great player and the national media has given him yet another accolade. The AP Preseason All-American team came out and Gillotte is on the First-team and is the lone Cardinal representative.

Louisville football player Asthon Gillotte named to AP Preseason All-American team

Gillotte is the only Louisville football player to be on either the first team or the second team. It's an accolade that he wholeheartedly deserves. Gillotte has a shot at getting 15+ sacks this season. This is despite the fact that he's going to be double-teamed a lot this year.

The Cardinals have a chance to have a couple of All-Americans at the end of the season. If they do, then they have an outside shot to make the College Football Playoff. Winning the ACC is the best chance for them to do that since they likely aren't going to get an at-large bid.

Louisville opens up the season in a couple of weeks against Austin Peay. Gillotte could have a big game against them. The Cardinals need him the most against Notre Dame in their fourth game of the season.