Jeff Brohm's offense delivered for Louisville football in Year 1. Cards coach expects more
Cartwheels, fourth-down conversions and trick plays during the 2023 Louisville football season were only a glimpse of what a Jeff Brohm-orchestrated offense can look like.
In his first year coaching the Cardinals, Brohm had three months between his hiring and the beginning of spring football to keep the 2023 high school recruiting class together while assembling one of the country's best transfer portal groups. The outcome was a 10-win season and the program’s first ACC championship appearance.
Brohm has now had a full recruiting cycle to bring in players who fit his system. The returning Louisville players have had a year to become more familiar with his playbook, too. It sets up the Cardinals to take another step toward a pro-style offense made in Brohm’s image.
It did well at Purdue, which averaged 419.7 total yards of offense per game and had five offensive players drafted in the NFL over the past two years.
“It's a home run offense,” said Cardinals offensive lineman Michael Gonzalez, who stayed with the program after the coaching change a year ago. “You can get a home run, or you can run the ball, run 15 plays down the field to score a touchdown. We can do whatever. I really enjoy playing in this offense.”
Jeff Brohm likes to emphasize tight ends
One of the biggest pieces to establishing more of a Brohm-esque offense is developing the tight ends. The Cardinals added three from the transfer portal, and Jamari Johnson has had a year in the system heading into his sophomore season.
Brohm has emphasized tight ends' importance in his offense. During Brohm's final two years at Purdue, tight end Payne Durham was the fourth- and second-leading receiver and also was one of the top run blockers of those who played 10 or more games. In 2021, Durham had the third-best run blocking grade and sixth-best pass blocking mark.
“The tight end position is one of the harder positions to learn, especially when you're young,” Brohm said. “You’ve got to be physical. You've got to learn all the different blocking schemes and techniques — all the different fronts are coming at you — and be good in the passing game and be able to be physical, both running and running routes in traffic. So, it takes a while.”
Johnson can be that piece for Louisville in 2024. As a freshman, he played in five games and developed his blocking skills but didn’t record a catch. As a sophomore, Johnson is in better shape and has a better understanding of the tight end’s role as a blocker and pass catcher. During spring practices, he took some first-team reps.
“He's got to be a threat for us this year,” Brohm said of Johnson. “He has to be a playmaker. We're counting on him.”
QB Tyler Shough remains key piece from transfer portal
The next piece came from the portal, where U of L added Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough. When healthy, the 6-foot-5 Shough has a strong, accurate arm and a solid pocket presence. During Shough’s injury-shortened time with the Red Raiders, he completed 62.4% of his passes, totaling 2,922 yards and 20 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in 15 games played. While Shough said most schools run the same basic concepts, he’s had to make adjustments based on the Cardinals’ style of play.
“I think something that we do differently here is ... some play action, some wide zones, some different personnels, shifts and motions,” Shough said. “We didn't get that at Tech. A lot of it was more shotgun-based. A lot of it was more dropback.”
Between personnel additions and the returning players getting more comfortable, Louisville’s offense is closer to resembling the kind of offense Brohm wants to run heading into Year 2.
“I just think being able to develop the ability to throw the ball vertically to have a potent passing attack is something we just got to continue to press for,” Brohm said. “That means receivers have got to step up, quarterback's got to be accurate. Tight ends have got to own the middle of the field. We still have a way to go there, but there's progress. We'd like to go a little bit faster with it, but we are making slight progress.”
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jeff Brohm ramping up Louisville football's offense in Year 2
