What To Watch For: Louisville Cardinals Spring Game

WILL LOUISVILLE’S PASSING OFFENSE LOOK LIKE WHAT WE SAW AT PURDUE?

Jeff Brohm was hired at Louisville for two reasons. He has a connection here as a former player and native son. The other reason is that his offense is known for being entertaining and pass-heavy. Over the last decade, Brohm has fielded offenses that spread the ball around and get a lot of receivers involved.

His ability to feature a high-level wide receiver each year is what really stands out to me. Rondale Moore, David Bell, and Charlie Jones are all guys that Brohm’s offense featured at Purdue and all three were nationally recognized talents. Could Jamari Thrash be the next in a line of great receivers in this offense?

WILL THE STAFF LAND ANY RECRUITS THIS WEEKEND?

Louisville has a substantial amount of recruits in town this weekend for the spring game and the list includes one of the best players in the 2024 class. KJ Bolden who is the top-ranked safety in the country and the fifth-ranked player overall in On3’s Consensus rankings will make a trip up north from Georgia. TJ Capers who is currently the top-rated commit in the history of the program will also be in town again for an unofficial visit. Having two five-stars on campus together is something we didn’t even see last year when Louisville signed the best class in school history.

From a portal standpoint, UofL looks to be in good shape with a few guys, and the most likely player to pop this weekend seems to be Keith Brown who is transferring from Oregon. Brown is a linebacker who saw time as a reserve during his time with the Ducks and he could provide instant depth to the linebacker room.

Cam’Ron Kelly is a safety transfer from UNC who spent the spring at UVA before hopping into the portal again. UofL garnered immediate interest and he’s taking an official this weekend a few days after hitting the portal. The timing makes one think that UofL should be in good shape.

The other players who will be in town consist of tight ends, offensive linemen, and other defensive backs. Depth is what the staff is likely looking for but the tight end spot needs some genuine help. That may factor into how they fare with the portal targets they’ve offered so far.

JEFF BROHM’S FORMAT COULD BE A BIG FACTOR IN WHAT WE SEE

Louisville is far from healthy right now but Jeff Brohm is going to present the fans with a traditional spring game format with the first group on offense going against the first group on defense and so on. We should get some real competition between guys who are the most evenly matched which is what we all want.

Jamari Thrash against Jarvis Brownlee, Ashton Gillotte against Renato Brown, Dez Tell against Bryan Hudson. We will get a short glimpse of what these guys can really do in this new coaching scheme. Kudos to Brohm for setting up a competitive game even with the injury issues.

THE CROWD SHOULD BE IMPRESSIVE

I don’t care what the weather looks like, UofL fans have been buzzing about the return of Jeff Brohm for months and I think they’ll show out to support his squad. It’s also the weekend that Derby festivities kick off which will get people out of the house anyway.

Between the number of fans who showed up to practices as well as the interest in UofL content, the choice to bring Brohm back to Louisville has already been a success. Fans will show up to get their first glimpse at a Brohm-led program and I think they’ll get a good show.