LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The first thing to note about the Louisville football spring game Friday night is that there is one at all. Previous head coach Scott Satterfield liked to get spring football over with, began it in February and de-emphasized the spring game as a public part of the Louisville football calendar.
In his first season, head coach Jeff Brohm has returned to more traditional timing of spring practices, has opened a half-dozen of them to the public and scheduled a public spring game at 7 p.m. Friday, the night before Thunder Over Louisville, as has often been done at Louisville.
Parking lots will open at 2 p.m. Friday for tailgating and L&N Stadium gates (1 through 6) will open at 6. The game will be streamed by ACC Network Extra.
"We want to be fan friendly," Brohm told Jody Demling on a spring edition of his coaches radio show Thursday night. "I mean, it's going to be our football family that's going out there trying to win games, but we're going to need all the fans and all their support. And really, that's our extended family. And, you know, it matters to us and we want to make sure they get a glimpse of what our team is going to be about. We've opened about one practice a week ever since we started. We want to make sure anyone that wants to come out can see our players and see how they work and get a little taste and flavor of football in the spring. And then, of course, you know, once the season starts, I think everybody would be revved up ready to go. We've got to make sure that we're ready to play game one, going on the road against a conference opponent. We have to figure out a way to win."
What fans will see Friday night will hardly be the full picture. The first half will be more of a traditional scrimmage with first-team offense facing first-team defense, though injuries have thinned the ranks and Brohm won't take many chances with anyone. The last thing any coach wants to see is an injury in the spring game.
"I really wish you could just flat-out split up the teams and play a full-fledged game," Brohm said. "But, for whatever reason, that's just not as realistic as it used to be. There's limited guys that are available due to injury. There's other guys that you really don't want to risk getting injured on the last practice, which can happen. But we are going to try to do things to simulate a game as much as we can. So, for us, it's not going to be the first team going against the scout team and really not getting a good look. This is going to be our best against our best, and our second against our second, and on down the line. We'll try to have it in a format where a lot of it will be live tackle. But there will be a few segments that maybe will not be, just with certain guys, because we don't want to get them injured. But we'll have a full regular first half. And then in the second half, we'll probably run the clock a little bit and make sure that we stay within the timeframe that we've been given for TV purposes."
One other thing to note about the spring game: The roster, as it stands now, is certainly not the roster that will reconvene for fall camp. That's the nature of college football. In fact, while spring practice has been a time for Brohm to introduce his schematic changes, it's also been about seeing where the team has needs that should be addressed in the portal in the coming weeks.
He has a transfer class that currently ranks No. 18 nationally in the portal rankings from 247sports but Brohm and his staff are nowhere close to finished.
Offensive line is an obvious spot where he'll be looking to add depth, and one offensive lineman, Duquensne's Vincent Lumia, committed to the Cardinals when college football's second portal window opened Saturday. He's likely not the last as Louisville's staff looks to build depth up front.
They'll also be on the hunt for tight ends and perhaps another linebacker. Gone is Bryan Brown's 3-4 scheme, which means Louisville will return to a four-man front. It will utilize five players in the secondary, which means it only needs two linebackers on the field at any given time. But the loss of Monty Montgomery to the transfer portal was a big one, and Louisville could stand to add some quality depth.
As well, if an impact player becomes available, Brohm is likely to make the addition regardless of position. A number of prospects are expected to be in attendance at Friday's game, and some have been on campus during the week.
The coach says the team has a deep pool of talent.
"It's just really magnified, the amount of recruiting you have to do and how it is really, truly year-round," Brohm said. "High school young men are important to recruit, and we definitely still want to do that. But this transfer portal is really active all year long. So you've got to be constantly evaluating what you're hearing, information you're getting, rumors that are out there, people calling, you know, on the side telling you that things may happen, and you just have to be ready. ... At the same time, there's going to be some holes on the team that maybe need to improve and get better that if you can find a way to add someone with experience that's played football or that really fits the bill, you want to do that. ... This is an active recruiting cycle. ... Definitely, recruiting possible transfers is the priority right now other than our football team, and we're going to make sure that we do everything in our power to just continue to try and improve our roster."
As far as players on the field, fans will get a good look at transfer quarterback Jack Plummer, who played for Brohm at Purdue before transferring to Cal. He's been the clear No. 1 at quarterback all spring, has faced tough defenses, knows Brohm's system, and has been accurate in his delivery.
Transfer quarterback Jack Plummer (13) is expected to take the reins of the Louisville offense this season.
"Well, it's hard to replace experience," Brohm said. "And he has a ton of experience not only in our offensive system, but playing against a high level of competition. And of course, he transferred to Cal for one year and started the entire year and played a whole different conference of good opponents. He's had a really good spring. He's definitely very thoughtful, very smart. He's improved his accuracy. He can see the field. He will definitely be a leader on that side of the ball. And I think he wants to go out with a bang. You know, he's put in a lot of hard work. Like every good quarterback, he's had ups and downs and he's been through adversity and it's toughened him up. And because of that, you can tell that he doesn't get rattled. So, we're very happy to have him. He's been a great addition and I think he'll be a really good leader."
Pierce Clarkson, a high-profile high school QB who got to Louisville for spring practice, had a minor foot surgery and has seen limited action in the spring. Brock Dohmann has been getting second-team reps
Jawhar Jordan, Cardinal fans know, but Brohm has been impressed with his skill-set. Maurice Turner is also a known commodity at the position, and the coaches like Wisconsin transfer Isaac Guerendo — at 6 feet, 1 inch tall and 225 pounds — as a different-look and short-yardage back.
"We've been very pleased with Jawhar. He's done a great job this spring," Brohm said. "He's got some really natural running skills. He's elusive. He loves football. He's a great young man and he works hard. His backup right now, Maurice Turner, really has done a very good job as well, a little bit different of a runner, but he's been very productive. And, of course, Isaac is a transfer that gives us a different element. He's big, he's strong, and we've got to get the run downhill and call plays to do that, because he's a load. So those guys I think could carry the load. But you know, whether it's running the ball even catching it out of the backfield, they're going to be very dangerous."
Fans will see a new-look wide receiving corps, a lot of familiar faces on the defensive front, and a secondary that is deep but has had some injury issues.
More than anything, they'll see a work in progress.
"I think everything's gone well," Brohm said. "Our guys are really good kids. They work hard. They want to succeed and do well. And, you know, we want to help them achieve their goals. So at this point, they've put in a lot of work. I think we've made a lot of progress. There's still plenty of work to do. But without question, certain guys have emerged as playmakers, guys you can really count on and then there's other positions that just need to continue to develop and improve and get better. We'll work hard at it. We have plenty of time. We wanted to utilize all these practices and then give them a little break here after school and pick things up really hard in the summer. And then, of course, fall camp and all those practices are going to matter. And I think if we just stick with it and continue to develop the guys on our team, maybe add a few people in the meantime, I think we could do some good things."
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