Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm will make his second ACC Kickoff appearance Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The four-day media event started Monday with conference champion Florida State, Georgia Tech and league newcomer SMU along with opening comments from ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips .
Last season, the Cardinals were the conference runners-up after making the ACC championship game for the first time in program history. Brohm will be joined in Charlotte by quarterback Tyler Shough , cornerback Quincy Riley and defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte .
Louisville, which won 10 games last year, opens the season at home against Austin Peay on Aug. 31 and hosts Georgia Tech in the conference opener three weeks later.
There will be no shortage of questions for the foursome to answer ahead of the 2024 college football season. Here are three storylines to follow ahead of Louisville’s appearance at ACC Kickoff:
Nothing is safe in the current college football landscape. That became evident with the Power Five shakeup over the last few years. Oklahoma and Texas moving to the SEC set off a chain reaction that was followed by the collapse of the Pac-12 and Florida State and Clemson’s ongoing challenge of the ACC’s grant of rights.
The ACC took precautions by adding SMU, California and Stanford, but it doesn’t seem to be enough for the Tigers and Seminoles. Rumors have begun to swirl about the two programs being in talks to leave the ACC for the Big 12 . If two of the league’s biggest brands leave, that would undoubtedly have a ripple effect on the remaining schools.
After building stability as an ACC school, Louisville likely would have some decisions to make.
About this time last year, Shough was sitting in Arlington, Texas, as a representative for Texas Tech during Big 12 Media Days . Now at Louisville, he will represent the Cardinals at ACC Kickoff. It will be his first major public appearance for U of L since joining the program in the offseason.
Shough is expected to be the Cardinals’ third starting quarterback in as many seasons. As with any starting signal caller, he will be one of the faces of the program. The day will give Shough a chance to publicly display the kind of leader he’ll be for Louisville heading into the season while also answering inevitable questions about his health.
Like at Texas Tech last year, Shough feels he has something to prove this year. Although this will be his seventh college football season, he’s yet to play a full year as a starter. He suffered injuries in all three of his seasons at Texas Tech. His lone season as the starter at Oregon was during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign; he played for current Miami head coach Mario Cristobal.
Last year, Gillotte was U of L’s lone defensive representative at ACC Kickoff. This time, he and Riley are representing the defense. That's appropriate because the two have put Louisville's unit among the nation's best.
Although Brohm is known for his offense, the defense was key in many of the Cardinals’ close victories in 2023. Riley sealed the win at N.C. State with a game-ending interception. A goal-line stand by linebackers TJ Quinn and Stanquan Clark kept Indiana at bay. The group also recorded shutouts against Murray State (56-0) and Duke (23-0).
Now with more talent, experience and depth, the group can be even more dominant in the ACC.
Riley and Gillotte returned to school to help make that happen. Both think they can benefit from another year in defensive coordinator Ron English’s system.
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: Will Jeff Brohm, Louisville football surpass 10 wins? 3 storylines at ACC Kickoff 2024
Local Charlotte, NC
Most Popular
Comments / 0