Louisville Cardinals Football Offseason Preview

The Louisville Cardinals had a better-than-expected 2019 season, then a worse-than-expected 2020 season, and then a so-so campaign in 2021. The direction of the program is unclear. Coach Scott Satterfield was viewed as a rising star in the coaching industry when he took the Louisville job, but after the past three years, fans don’t know what to expect. Fans do know that if the 2022 season doesn’t produce noticeable improvements, they will be unhappy and Satterfield will feel fresh pressure on the job. This is a year when Louisville needs to raise the bar for the program; whether it will is an open question.

The ACC Atlantic Division is in flux, and it’s hard to know where Louisville stands in the mix. The Cardinals are very unlikely to win the division and equally unlikely to fall to last place, but they could realistically finish anywhere from second to sixth in the division, and it will be intriguing to see how it all shakes out.

Key Personnel Lost

Louisville did not have significant personnel losses this past offseason. The Cardinals, along with fellow ACC members Syracuse and Duke, did not have a single NFL draft pick in 2022. One could say that last year’s 6-7 season was not all that bad given the relative dearth of talent, but Louisville was playing in the Sugar Bowl less than a decade ago. The Cardinals produced the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, Lamar Jackson. They were one of the 10 best programs in college football in the mid-2000s. This program expects better, and it should be better. The quality of talent in the program needs to improve by a considerable degree in order for the administration and fans to conclude that Satterfield has the Cardinals headed in the right direction.

Important Incoming Freshmen

Louisville focused on building up its roster in the transfer portal. Therefore, the Cardinals didn’t focus on collecting a large number of prospects in their 2022 recruiting class. A decent-size number of players have signed a letter of intent, but only two freshmen have enrolled with the school and are already inside the program in the latter half of June: quarterback Khalib Johnson and offensive tackle Max Cabana.

Louisville will rely on 13 incoming transfers, including Arizona State defensive lineman Jermayne Lole, to beef up the roster and provide the depth the Cardinals will need in order to survive in a difficult division.

Key Position Battles

Louisville’s defensive line got overpowered at times last year. The addition of Jermayne Lole will help, but there are still gaps in the roster along the defensive front. Louisville has to make notable progress in identifying its best defensive linemen in order to feel reasonably comfortable about its condition heading into the season.

Biggest Offseason Goal(s)

The Cardinals have the skill position players needed to do well on offense, but their defense had a lot of problems last season and has a long way to go in terms of developing the toughness and discipline needed to forge a successful season. Scott Satterfield, if not on the hot seat, is still embarking on a “prove-it” season, and he needs to spend the summer bringing a tough mentality into the program.