LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Jeff Brohm got what he wanted from Louisville's second scrimmage of fall camp Friday.
Which, naturally, gave him something else to worry about.
A week after Brohm came away concerned about his defense, the defense dominated. It eliminated big plays, created turnovers and forced the offense to work its way down the field.
So afterward, Brohm was talking about the offense.
“I thought we got pushed around a little bit, knocked around,” he said.
Such is the strange accounting of an August football scrimmage. There is no final score (for us civilians), but somebody still has to lose.
“While I would love for both sides to play well in the scrimmage, it's kind of hard for that to happen,” Brohm said. “One side's going to win and one not. So defense had the upper hand.”
And after Louisville's first major scrimmage of camp, Brohm wanted to see exactly that kind of response.
A week ago, the offense made plays, particularly through the air, while Brohm lamented a defense that allowed too many explosive plays. He wanted better communication, better execution and fewer breakdowns.
Friday, he saw them.
“Very, way better, without question, way better,” Brohm said when asked specifically about limiting big plays. “The calls were getting in, we're getting lined up, we were getting set, and we played well.”
Brohm called the two workouts “a tale of two scrimmages.”
“The defense dominated today, came out ready to go, very sound in what we did,” he said. “Eliminated big plays, making the offense drive the ball down the field, and then we got some turnovers.”
That was encouraging for a Louisville defense undergoing significant change under new coordinator Mark Ivey.
Brohm has said throughout camp that he likes the talent on that side of the ball. Friday was evidence that the pieces may be starting to operate together.
“It was good to see our defense play so sound,” Brohm said. “I think they have a lot of potential. We've got to coach right. We've got to put them in the best position. They've got to go execute, and they've got to find ways to take the ball and not give up a big play.”
The tradeoff was an offense Brohm said wasn't as sharp.
He didn't like the turnovers. He didn't like some of the decisions. And perhaps most of all, he didn't like seeing his offense lose the physical battle.
“The physicality part has to be there,” Brohm said. “That's just going to give you space to run your routes and do things. You've got to come off the ball and strike people and run hard, run through tackles, and the quarterback's got to play tough.”
Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz continued to receive generally positive reviews.
Brohm said Kienholz understands the offense, has taken care of the football and has established himself as a leader. He also showed more of his ability to make plays with his legs Friday.
But Brohm would like to see him resist relying on those legs too quickly.
“Being a little more decisive and maybe finding some underneath throws and not relying on his feet all the time will be important as we go forward,” Brohm said.
Louisville also continued to ease running back Isaac Brown into more work. Brown saw only a couple of snaps in Friday's scrimmage, but Brohm said he has been doing “more and more.”
“I think he can, without question, be a dynamic playmaker for us,” Brohm said.
Brown's gradual return is made easier by what Brohm believes is a deep running back room, something that could become especially important as Louisville begins moving away from the controlled environment of camp and toward preparations for its Sept. 6 opener against Ole Miss in Nashville.
Beginning Monday, the Cardinals will turn much more of their attention toward the Rebels.
“We've got a great preliminary plan,” Brohm said. “We put a lot of work into it, so we're ahead of the game on that. We have worked hard just on competing against ourselves, good on good as much as we can to this point.”
That doesn't mean all of Louisville's uncertainty is disappearing as game week approaches.
In fact, some of it changes by the day.
The continuing court battle over fifth-year eligibility has left Louisville trying to work returning defensive backs Jabari Mack and D'Angelo Hutchinson, along with linebacker Kalib Perry, into preparations while court rulings and NCAA eligibility rules continue to shift around them.
“It changes every day, so it's hard to keep track,” Brohm said. “Pretty much every day, we just call over to compliance. They tell us what we can do and not do, and we roll with it.”
Brohm said Louisville has begun the acclimation process with the returning players, but even their ability to participate has been fluid.
“Sometimes we got to take them off the field, and sometimes we don't,” Brohm said. “I don't know. Every day it's different. ... Tomorrow may be different, or Monday may be totally different.”
Brohm said Mack and Hutchinson, both of whom played for Louisville last season, would provide experienced help if ultimately allowed to play.
He also made clear that he'd prefer college football find a more orderly way to settle eligibility questions.
“You'd like to have set standards and set rules and just roll with it,” Brohm said. “And if it doesn't work, change it the next year. This suing this and court case this, court case that, I don't like that. I mean, just let's make a decision and roll with it and adjust.”
For now, that's about all Louisville can do.
The Cardinals finished their second scrimmage with a defense that had corrected some of the problems that bothered Brohm a week earlier, an offense with a fresh list of things to correct, and a roster that can still change depending on what a court or compliance office says next.
On Monday, Ole Miss preparation begins in earnest.
By then, Brohm hopes to know which players are allowed to take part in it.
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