Louisville Ready to Lean on Defensive Line

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As the University of Louisville football team comes off a productive bye week, it looks forward to its defensive line continuing to lead the way heading into the third game of the season against Bowling Green.

"We're going to go out there with the mindset that we're going to win the game on defense," said co-Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line coach Mark Hagen. "The big part of that is that it starts with us up front."

The Cards have a nucleus of guys comprised of both returners and newcomers who have formed a combative punch on the defensive line.

Notable returners include AJ Green, Rene Konga and Jordan Guerad, the latter two of which have anchored the interior of the Louisville line.

Meanwhile, the Cards have gotten early impacts from transfers Wesley Bailey, Clev Lubin, Jerry Lawson, Denzel Lowry and Justin Beadles.

"We remind our guys every time we go out there rent is due," said Hagen. "What we mean by that is you have to bring your A-game, you have to go out there and earn it every weekend."

Hagen has appointed Lubin as the leader of the defensive line, as he has proven he has a strong work ethic on the field and he challenges his teammates to be better on a daily basis.

"There was not a guy that we watched that compared [to Lubin] from a motor standpoint," Hagen said. "To me, that always wins in the end. I love coaching guys like that."

Lubin had a standout performance against James Madison on Sept. 5, where he led the team with 1.5 sacks, led the defensive line with ten tackles and tallied a forced fumble.

Bailey transferred into the program over the summer from Rutgers and quickly made a difference with 10 total tackles and one sack on the season.

"Happy that we're able to get a guy like that that's played good football," Hagen said of Bailey. "He has come in and been very motivated from day one."

Green, a redshirt-sophomore in his third season at UofL, had the momentum shifter for the Cards against JMU when he recovered a fumble in the end zone to break the 14-14 tie and give Louisville its first lead of the night in the fourth quarter. This helped push the Cards to 2-0 on the season that was highlighted by a strong performance by the defense.

"Happy for the start," Hagen stated. "It's a long season so we have to keep forging ahead."

Louisville will now turn its attention to Bowling Green this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET and will be broadcast on ACC Network.

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Wesley Bailey

Justin Beadles

AJ Green

Jordan Guerad

Rene Konga

Jerry Lawson

Denzel Lowry

Clev Lubin

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