LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Scott Satterfield enjoyed spring football games as much as he enjoyed 4-star quarterback prospects de-committing on signing day.
He essentially avoided them for his first three seasons as the Louisville football coach. If you were making a list of reasons why Cardinal fans were never gaga about Satterfield, downplaying the spring game has to make the list.
Satterfield, of course, has moved on to the University of Cincinnati, where (believe it or not) the Bearcats staged a spring game last Saturday.
Jeff Brohm, the new Cards’ coach, has always considered his spring football game a celebration of the conclusion of 15 practices as well as opportunity to get his fan base talking about what to expect in September.
Friday night at L&N Cardinal Stadium, Brohm gave U of L fans nearly two hours of entertainment that even nagging rain showers could not stop. First-team offense against first-team defense. Second-team defense against second-team offense.
Cheerleaders. Band. Several thousand fans. Recruits, a number of them from the transfer portal, wandering around the edge of the field before kickoff.
Brohm is committed to reigniting that loving feeling between Louisville fans and its football team again.
Several weeks ago Brohm invited former U of L players who live in the area to attend Chalk Talk. He showed film and explained the offensive and defensive systems his team will play. The former players had dinner with the current players. A good time was had by all and more than three dozen former players attended the game to be honored at halftime Friday night.
Lights. Camera. Action.
Brohm’s scoring system resulted in the Defense earning a 51-30 victory over the Offense, primarily because the Defense earned 18 points by snagging three interceptions off two U of L quarterbacks who are unlikely to earn major minutes next fall — Evan Conley, who threw a pair, and Khalib Johnson, who threw the other.
Jack Plummer, the quarterback who played for Brohm at Purdue and transferred to U of L from California, looked like a guy who understood the fine print of the Brohm offense. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Brock Domann was 9 for 14 for 71 yards.
Plummer threw 26 touchdown passes in three seasons for Brohm at Purdue. He was a 63% passer who threw for more than 3,000 yards at Cal last fall. Not many guys return to play for a coach they walked away from. Plummer did.
Why?
“Well, a lot of it is the system and it's a great system,” Plummer said. “The plan is very quarterback friendly. I mean every quarterback he's had back to Western Kentucky has played in the NFL and some are still playing in the NFL.
“That's something that's drawn to me and my goals are to play at the next level and I think that this a this place will help me do that …
“… (Brohm) is a great guy, family guy, obviously, has whole family around. And you know, he's a player's coach in a way where if you got something going on (in your life), you can go up and talk to him and know he'll help you out a little bit.”
Josh Lifson, a walk-on, inserted himself firmly in the tight end discussion by catching two passes for 82 yards and a score. Maurice Turner, who will be a sophomore, showed the ability to crackle through holes, sprinting for 57 yards on seven carries.
T.J. Quinn led the defense with eight tackles while also contributing an interception.
For Brohm and his staff, the serious work begins this week. After evaluating film of all 15 practices, including the spring game coaches will meet individually with every player to discuss their futures.
Like every school, Louisville is likely to watch more players enter the portal as the roster will continue to churn.
“That (player meetings) will be on the deck at the beginning of the week, for sure, before a lot of our guys hit the road recruiting.
“We want to meet with all right guys. Football is competitive and you got to tell them where they stand.
“Sometimes that's good news and they feel pretty good about moving forward. Other times, maybe some things they don't want to hear. But you have to be honest and assess your football team and try to find ways to improve and, and help guys get on the field, whether it be here or even somewhere else.”
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