Cardinal Authority takes a look at the most important players on the Louisville football team for this season
Jody Demling
Cardinal Authority is running a special series looking at the 50 most important players on the University of Louisville football roster heading into the2024 season. Over the course of the next 10 days, we will unveil the rankings of the players starting with No. 50.
Just a reminder that "the most important" is very vague and can mean a lot of things. It all depends on how you define importance. Of course, it's subjective. Some might look at who holds the most value on the roster, while others may look at who is the most talented player. What about the player with the brightest future? Or depth at certain positions and how you might factor that into the equation? And it could be who impacts the game the most.
What we tried to do at Cardinal Authority is mix a little bit of all of those as we looked at the2024 season. We took a little positional value, mixed it in with past production and potential production, and of course, we looked at the projected depth chart and tried to determine a few spots that might rise or fall.
Honestly, there's no right or wrong listing at this point. But it was a fun and exciting exercise and we are pumped to bring you the final results.
Louisville went 10-3 last season and the opening game for year two under Jeff Brohm begins on Aug. 31 against Austin Peay at L&N Stadium.
Note: Wide receiverCaullin Lacy would have been No. 7 on the list. He suffered a broken collar bone on Aug. 17 during a scrimmage andwill be out for an extended period of time.Since he won't start the season on the field, we removed him from the list.
The 50 most important players on the Louisville roster for2024:
No. 46-50:Woo Spencer, Antonio Watts, Keyjuan Brown, TJ Capers, Jaleel Skinner
No. 41-45: Cataurus Hicks, Aaron Williams, Dan Foster, Jimmy Calloway, Duane Martin
No. 36-40: Released Today
No. 31-35: Released onTuesday
No. 26-30: Released on Wednesday
No. 21-25: Released onThursday
No. 16-20: Released on Friday
No. 11-15:Released on Saturday
No. 1-10: Released several days next week
No. 40 Jordan Guerad | Defensive line
Class:Redshirt Senior
Ht/Wt: 6-2, 295
Previous stats:Played in 12 games last season at Florida International and recorded 38 total tackles,seven tackles for loss, and two sacks.
Jordan Guerad was an All-Conference USA defensive tackle atFloridaInternational and had been committed to Minnesota before signing with Louisville.
Guerad was the highest-graded defensive player on the FIU defense last fall with a Pro Football Focus grade of 83.2. He was stout against the run with an 83.2 run defense grade, but also productive as a pass-rusher with a 76.5 pass-rush grade that included a team-high 22 QB hurries from his DT position.
Gueard was injured early in fall camp but is back practicing and is a nice added piece to the depth on the defensive line. He'll be in the rotation and give the Cardinals a nice piece in a backup role on the front.
No. 39 Antonio Meeks | Wide receiver
Class:Junior
Ht/Wt: 6-1, 195
Previous stats: Meeks caught 74 passes for 1,437 yards and 11 touchdowns in two seasons at Tuskegee.
A former star at Division II Tuskeee University, Antonio Meeks comes to Louisville for his final two seasons of eligibility.
Meeks, who is originally from Lilburn, Ga., was named to the second-team All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this past season. He had a ton of interest when he went into the portal and joined the Louisville program prior to spring ball.
Meeks had 74 catches the last two seasons for 1,437 yards with 11 touchdowns. He averaged an eye-catching 17.3 yards a catch this season and 22.3 yards a catch during the 2022 season. Arguably one of the best wide receivers in HBCU the past two seasons, Meeks finished his freshman year for the Golden Tigers with 31 catches for 692 yards and six touchdowns. Meeks saw his number go up in 2023, despite an injury that sidelined him for a few games. In eight games, Meeks caught 43 passes for 745 yards and five touchdowns.
The biggest question is how he will adjust to the higher level. It seemed like he was among Louisville's second group of wide receivers in the spring, meaning he was in the rotation but wasn't one of the go-to guys. With the injury to Caullin Lacy, could Meeks be one that steps up?
He certainly has the potential.
No. 38 Adonijah Green | Defensive line
Class:Redshirt freshman
Ht/Wt: 6-5, 225
Previous stats: Played in four games as a true freshman last season, collecting two tackles
Adonijah Green was one of only two true freshmen who played in the opening game last season.
He ended up playing in four games and saw limited time on the field for the Cardinals, which was not a surprise. He came in and the coaching staff lauded his effort in fall camp last season but said he needed to gain some weight and strength.
Well, he's picked up a few pounds and certainly looks bigger than he was a year ago.
Green has been right there in the mix with the rotation on the defensive edge but finds himself behind some veteran guys. We still believe he has a bright future on the front line of the defense and it won't shock us if he makes some big plays. But he'll be more of a rotation guy.
No. 37 Isaac Brown | Running back
Class:Freshman
Ht/Wt: 5-9, 190
Previous stats:His first season at U of L
Isaac Brown should be the first true freshman on the field for Louisville this season and it wouldn't shock us if he's the only one to burn a redshirt season.
U of L coach Jeff Brohm typically likes to work a true freshman in a few weeks into the season but U of L running backs coach Chris Barclay suggested about Brown that it will be "tough to keep him off the field." The native of Homestead, Fla., arrived in January and has a stellar spring camp and that has continued during the first two weeks of fall camp.
Brown has turned heads from the day he stepped foot on campus.
He wears No. 25 and Brohm has said that he reminds him a lot of Jawhar Jordan, who wore No. 25 last season and is now in the NFL.
ESPN put Brown on its Preseason Freshman All-American team and we're excited to see what the playmaker can do.
No. 36 D'Angelo Hutchinson | Safety
Class:Junior
Ht/Wt: 6-3, 195
Previous stats:Played in 12 games last season with nine tackles and a blocked punt against Virginia
Let's call D'Angelo Hutchinson very intriguing.
And honestly, let's hope he's much higher on this list at the end of the season. Hutchinson was limited on snaps last season and actually started the season injured.
But he did come in and make some plays in a few games and during fall camp he's been a guy that has made a lot of plays.
U of L coach Jeff Brohm said Hutchinson has "come around" and he'll be a huge addition to the depth in the secondary. Just how good will he be remains to be seen.
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