Peterson Poised for Huge Senior Season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville senior defensive end Tabarius Peterson is working toward a huge senior season.

A starter at defensive end in all 13 games in 2019, Peterson has worked hard to become an even bigger performer as he enters his senior season on the Cardinals' defense .

After leaving school after seven spring practices in March, Peterson and the Cardinals weren't able to return to campus until June because of COVID-19. While a lot of players might have taken that time off to rest, Peterson worked hard to improve, with the help of a workout plan by the UofL strenghth staff.

"I chose to do it every day, even on Saturday and Sunday," Peterson said following Tuesday's practice. "When we started working out as a team, even on Saturdays, I would get with the group of the d-line and we'd do some pass rush drills and working on techniques."

A native of Tucker, Ga., Peterson's development is crucial if the Cardinals are going to step forward this fall on defense. The Cardinals improved by almost 10 points per game, but still have a long way to go if the Cardinals are going to be an elite defense.

"Not only as a defensive line but as a defense, we feel like we can make incredible strides from where we were a year ago," UofL defensive line coach Mark Ivey said. "And Tabarius is no different than our defense. He did okay last year, but I think he can be a shining star in our defense this year. It starts with your stance, and it's totally different. It's something now he understands, 'I've got to start in a position where I can get leverage off the football.' He's doing that now."

Peterson saw limited plays in last Saturday's scrimmage, but the redshirt senior has done enough to impress the coaching staff in the first couple weeks of fall camp.

"He's gotten better with his techniques," defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. "Number one in the run game, but that was an area that he needed to get better at. In his run game, stunts and things of that nature, and he's gotten a lot better with that and will continue to get better as the season goes on, as practice goes on.

"The next thing, his transition into a pass rusher from a standpoint of sometimes teams won't give you a look telling you it's pass – sometimes they'll give you a run look with play-action, so just converting and I think he's done an amazing job with that. And, just running. That joker can run. He's worked on his speed, he's worked on his diet, so he looks just how we want him to look right now as far as his body structure and what we ask him to do. He's a guy that is going to continue to get better in the run game, but I think number one he just has to keep getting better with his pass rush to get to the next level."

Peterson is more than a numbers guy, he's a leader. He recorded 24 tackles from his end position, but his impact is greater than this stats. He's becoming a big-time leader.

"I think the number one thing for TP is from a leadership standpoint," Brown said. "TP has done a great job for us defensively, trying to be that leader we're asking him to be. We've got a lot of young defensive linemen and they are looking up to him. We're telling him, 'look, you have to be able to help set the precedence for that next generation of defensive linemen that are here.' He's doing that to a T. When I say he's playing hard, he is playing hard. And, that's what we look for in our leaders, especially from a senior like TP.

"He's doing some things this year – he's gotten better with his pass rush and in his run game, being able to stay low and make plays. He's doing an amazing job. I think from a leadership standpoint, he's doing an amazing job for us."

University of Louisville Athletics

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