Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics
Brohm and the Cardinals Look to Build Off of Sucessful Week One Performance
September 02, 2024 | Football
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville head football coach Jeff Brohm and the Cardinals look to build off the week one momentum as they welcome Jacksonville State this Saturday at L&N Stadium.
Louisville is coming off a home opening win against Austin Peay last weekend, beating the Governors 62-0 to start the 2024 regular season.
"We did what we were supposed to do and I think we prepared hard we practiced well and these guys wanted to go out there and try to put on our best performance so yes it's always important to keep doing what you're supposed to do and play well do the small things correctly challenge yourself and to play your best and for the most part you know I thought we did that for four quarters and now we got to find a way to do that again. "
One of the many bright spots for the Cardinals on Saturday was senior wide receiver Jadon Thompson. Thompson hauled in three catches for 44 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
"Jadon has a lot of experience he's played a lot of football here and at Cincinnati. When Caullin (Lacy) went down he was probably the most veteran we had that was going to be in a rotation with Ja'Corey (Brooks) and Chris (Bell) on the outside so to get him on the field as a starter get all those guys out there all guys that are 6 -2 plus those are good targets and he really just has a good feel and a knack for football and I think like I said it's his second year on offense he understands it as good as anybody."
Coming into the season, a lot of talk surrounded what type of production the Cardinal's running back room would provide this season after losing Isaac Guerendo and Jawhar Jordan to the NFL Draft. On Saturday the ground game prevailed as Louisville racked up 293 yards on the ground. Isaac Brown, Duke Watson, and Keyjuan Brown all had a touchdown on the day.
"I was proud of our running backs. Last year I thought they stepped up and having two guys drafted was awesome for our team and for those guys you know this room early on we knew maybe you didn't quite have that caliber yet, but they had done a really good job, and they are solid players. We got three youngsters in Keyjuan (Brown), Isaac (Brown) and Duke (Watson) that all have some good talent. We just must continue that strength, but they understand what we are doing and while we want to score points and create explosive plays you know when you can run the ball consistently, you're going to eliminate a lot of negative plays."
Freshman running back Isaac Brown shined in his debut for the Cardinals. The ESPN Preseason All-American exploded for 123 yards and one touchdown on just five carries.
"Isaac looked good. He's fast, he's quick, he's elusive, he's danger so with the ball in his hands and he's got some speed that you just don't coach. You know anytime you play at first, your freshman in game one, you worry about him walking up not knowing all the plays, turning the ball over but he practiced hard, and his demeanor and his work ethic overcomes a lot of that."
On the defensive side of the ball, Louisville held Austin Peay to just 106 yards of total offense. Tramel Logan, a redshirt senior from USF, was impressive in his Louisville debut recording two sacks for 27 yards and a forced fumble that was taken back for a touchdown.
"It was great to see Tramel step in and play the way he did. He is slippery to block, has a quick first step and he understands what he needs to do to keep getting better. He has a good understanding of how to play football and he's been a great teammate as well which has been great to see, very unselfish but he is very talented."
UofL will now turn its attention to Jacksonville State on Saturday. The Gamecocks are coming off a week one loss to Coastal Carolina.
Jacksonville State is led by head coach Rich Rodriguez who is currently ranked eighth among active FBS coaches in career wins.
Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm spoke about facing Rodriguez and his prolific spread offense.
"Coach Rodriguez has been coaching a long time and was really one of the main ones to perfect the spread offense and the ability to use the quarterback as a runner and passer with great tempo to hit some plays on you before you lined up. He has been good at it, and I think now that you're going against him there's a whole lot you got to prepare for, he understands the game, he gets it, he's been there, he's done that, he knows how to take players and maximize their talent level, so we'll have our hands full. This is going to be a well coach team"
The Cardinals will continue their three game home stand Saturday afternoon at L&N Stadium. Kickoff versus Jacksonville State is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on the ACC Network Extra.
Louisville is coming off a home opening win against Austin Peay last weekend, beating the Governors 62-0 to start the 2024 regular season.
"We did what we were supposed to do and I think we prepared hard we practiced well and these guys wanted to go out there and try to put on our best performance so yes it's always important to keep doing what you're supposed to do and play well do the small things correctly challenge yourself and to play your best and for the most part you know I thought we did that for four quarters and now we got to find a way to do that again. "
One of the many bright spots for the Cardinals on Saturday was senior wide receiver Jadon Thompson. Thompson hauled in three catches for 44 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
"Jadon has a lot of experience he's played a lot of football here and at Cincinnati. When Caullin (Lacy) went down he was probably the most veteran we had that was going to be in a rotation with Ja'Corey (Brooks) and Chris (Bell) on the outside so to get him on the field as a starter get all those guys out there all guys that are 6 -2 plus those are good targets and he really just has a good feel and a knack for football and I think like I said it's his second year on offense he understands it as good as anybody."
Coming into the season, a lot of talk surrounded what type of production the Cardinal's running back room would provide this season after losing Isaac Guerendo and Jawhar Jordan to the NFL Draft. On Saturday the ground game prevailed as Louisville racked up 293 yards on the ground. Isaac Brown, Duke Watson, and Keyjuan Brown all had a touchdown on the day.
"I was proud of our running backs. Last year I thought they stepped up and having two guys drafted was awesome for our team and for those guys you know this room early on we knew maybe you didn't quite have that caliber yet, but they had done a really good job, and they are solid players. We got three youngsters in Keyjuan (Brown), Isaac (Brown) and Duke (Watson) that all have some good talent. We just must continue that strength, but they understand what we are doing and while we want to score points and create explosive plays you know when you can run the ball consistently, you're going to eliminate a lot of negative plays."
Freshman running back Isaac Brown shined in his debut for the Cardinals. The ESPN Preseason All-American exploded for 123 yards and one touchdown on just five carries.
"Isaac looked good. He's fast, he's quick, he's elusive, he's danger so with the ball in his hands and he's got some speed that you just don't coach. You know anytime you play at first, your freshman in game one, you worry about him walking up not knowing all the plays, turning the ball over but he practiced hard, and his demeanor and his work ethic overcomes a lot of that."
On the defensive side of the ball, Louisville held Austin Peay to just 106 yards of total offense. Tramel Logan, a redshirt senior from USF, was impressive in his Louisville debut recording two sacks for 27 yards and a forced fumble that was taken back for a touchdown.
"It was great to see Tramel step in and play the way he did. He is slippery to block, has a quick first step and he understands what he needs to do to keep getting better. He has a good understanding of how to play football and he's been a great teammate as well which has been great to see, very unselfish but he is very talented."
UofL will now turn its attention to Jacksonville State on Saturday. The Gamecocks are coming off a week one loss to Coastal Carolina.
Jacksonville State is led by head coach Rich Rodriguez who is currently ranked eighth among active FBS coaches in career wins.
Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm spoke about facing Rodriguez and his prolific spread offense.
"Coach Rodriguez has been coaching a long time and was really one of the main ones to perfect the spread offense and the ability to use the quarterback as a runner and passer with great tempo to hit some plays on you before you lined up. He has been good at it, and I think now that you're going against him there's a whole lot you got to prepare for, he understands the game, he gets it, he's been there, he's done that, he knows how to take players and maximize their talent level, so we'll have our hands full. This is going to be a well coach team"
The Cardinals will continue their three game home stand Saturday afternoon at L&N Stadium. Kickoff versus Jacksonville State is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on the ACC Network Extra.
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