LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The time for lists is nearly over. The countdown to kickoff is on.
Now that we’ve watched Louisville’s first Atlantic Coast Conference opponent, Georgia Tech, prove that Florida State might be better served looking for work outside the league, college football has officially started to dominate all the oxygen from the local sports scene.
The Saturday rundown is Austin Peay at Louisville at noon; Florida International at Indiana at 3:30 p.m.; Western Kentucky at Alabama at 7 p.m. and Southern Miss at Kentucky at 7:45. Pack some refreshments. Looks like a 12-hour commitment to me.
I still have time for one final blast of preseason recognition for several local performers.
ProFootballFocus is a valuable subscription website that ranks players through analytics and video review. PFF led into the opening season preview by ranking the top 10 players at every position as well as the top 70 quarterbacks from the power conferences.
Four players — two from Louisville and two from Kentucky — earned Top 10 recognition at their positions, no easy achievement. PFF also had a surprising ranking of the quarterbacks from U of L, UK and IU.
Here is a short summary, as I encourage you to subscribe to PFF:
*Louisville’s Ashton Gillotte, ranked the fifth-best edge rusher. Although Gillotte has earned several first-team all-American designations from other outlets, PFF has him fifth at his position.
James Pearce Jr. of Tennessee has been the consensus pick as the top guy at edge rusher. Appears that PFF counted Gillotte down a bit because it considers his performance stronger against the run than it is against the pass, determining that he ranked eighth-best against the run last season and No. 10 on QB pressures.
*Kentucky’s Deone Walker is ranked the second-best defensive tackle. If Walker continues to perform the way that he has for Mark Stoops and the Wildcats the last two seasons, he’s a cinch to be at least at Top 10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ask PFF. This is what it says about his play:
“Walker is the textbook definition of ‘first guy off the bus.’ At 6-foot-6, 348 pounds, he dwarfs nearly every offensive lineman he lines up against. Most defensive tackles that size normally end up serving as run-stuffers who eat double teams while adding little to nothing as a pass-rusher. While Walker can certainly do the first part (81.7 PFF run-defense grade in 2023), the latter couldn’t be further from the truth.”
*UK’s Jamon Dumas-Johnson, No. 9 linebacker: The Wildcats were already strong at linebacker with J.J. Weaver, but the addition of Dumas-Johnson from Georgia takes the Wildcats up a notch.
As the group, the UK linebackers ranked the third-best in the nation at PFF, trailing only Clemson and Iowa.
Here is part of the scouting report on Dumas-Johnson:
“He’s earned a place on this list for what he’s accomplished over the past two years. Since 2022, his 80.2 PFF run-defense grade leads all SEC linebackers. He’s fifth in that same group with a 24.2% pressure rate. After excelling for the Bulldogs, JDJ is taking his talents to Kentucky for the 2024 season.”
*Cards’ cornerback Quincy Riley, ranked the nation's No. 9 player at that position.
There is a reason opposing quarterbacks generally attacked Louisville on the other side of the field. PFF said Riley ranked second among all cornerbacks in its wins above average metric. He allowed only 23 catches (less than 2 per game) on 63 targets. PFF said that was the sixth lowest completion percentage in FBS.
As for the local power conference quarterbacks, PFF ranked them this way:
1. Kurtis Rourke of Indiana, No. 36 of 70. When healthy in 2022, Rourke was voted offensive player of the year in the Mid-American Conference at his former school, Ohio University in the Hoosiers' debut season with coach Curt Cignetti.
He was also PFF’s best overall quarterback with the highest grade for accuracy. The Hoosiers will need extraordinary quarterback play to post a winning season.
2. Brock Vandagriff of Kentucky, No. 53 of 70. PFF notes his lack of playing experience in three seasons at Georgia, but says that Vandagriff has the receivers and running game to succeed in Lexington.
3. Tyler Shough of Louisville, No. 56 of 70. PFF notes that a string of injuries has kept Shough from ever attempting 200 passes in a season. But it also says this about Shough:
“He’s shown flashes of potential for a long time when he is on the field, but his health and ball security could loom over the Cardinals’ chances of ACC contention.”
More from Rick Bozich:
- BOZICH | Pat Kelsey throws another strike for Louisville basketball
- BOZICH | Will former Louisville Bat Joey Votto make Hall of Fame? Yes, he will
- BOZICH | Pressure on Woodson, IU in Bahamas matchup with Louisville
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