Quincy Riley and Tahveon Nicholson were two of only six defensive backs who had 25 or more targets but didn’t allow a touchdown, had fewer than 5 yards per target and held receivers to less than 40% completion during the 2022 season.
Two years later, they’re teammates.
Nicholson became one of seven defensive backs Louisville football added from the transfer portal during the offseason. Much like last year when Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm racked up offensive linemen and wide receivers from the portal, he targeted defensive backs and had success bringing in four cornerbacks and three safeties. They’ll make their debut when spring football begins in March.
The additions should help Louisville improve its pass defense heading into Year 2 under Brohm.
After a three-year career as a safety at Eastern Illinois, Trinity High School alum Blake Ruffin is returning to his hometown with the highest coverage grade of the transfers (88.8) but will have to adjust to the Power Five.
One of Louisville’s biggest additions was Tamarion McDonald, who previously committed to Ole Miss. Besides having SEC experience as a two-year starter for Tennessee, McDonald was ranked the No. 21 safety in the portal. He announced his commitment to Louisville shortly after teammate Wesley Walker, who started 10 games for the Volunteers last season. Walker and McDonald had the fifth- and sixth-best coverage grades on the team with a 75.0 and 74.8, respectively. The only returning Cardinals with higher coverage grades than the duo were Riley (85.3), who opted to hold off on a professional career for another year and come back to Louisville, and defensive lineman Mason Reiger (78.1).
Corey Thornton was also one of the Cardinals’ better pickups. A four-year starter for UCF, Thornton had the team’s best coverage (76.3) and overall defensive grades (76.2) at cornerback last season, making him a viable option to replace Jarvis Brownlee in the starting lineup.
Though Walker played most of his snaps at free safety, McDonald was a staple at slot corner. Nicholson was a staple at corner for the Illini and graded out at 69.3 in coverage, fifth best on the team. Redshirt freshman safety Daeh McCullough (Oklahoma) and redshirt sophomore cornerback Tayon Holloway (North Carolina) don’t have the experience of the other five but add depth at their respective positions and were highly recruited in high school. Holloway was the 21st-best cornerback in the Class of 2022, and McCullough was the No. 3 overall player in Indiana and No. 19 safety in the 2023 recruiting class.
Although Louisville’s run defense ranked ninth nationally last year, holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards per game, it allowed 217.3 passing yards per game and 13.2 yards per completion, which ranked 57th. At times, the Cardinals’ lack of secondary depth hurt them against more talented receivers, including the Holiday Bowl.
U of L allowed USC quarterback Miller Moss to set a bowl record in passing touchdowns (6) while throwing for 372 yards in the Cardinals’ 42-28 loss. Three Trojans had 60 or more receiving yards: Tahj Washington (99), Makai Lemon (75) and Ja’Kobi Lane (60).
After the game, Brohm said although the secondary had played well all season, it “got exposed, and that hurt us.”
“They had a couple of matchups of fast players on our safeties,” he said. “It just wasn’t one of our better days.”
Adding secondary depth became more of a priority after Louisville lost safety Cam Kelly and Brownlee to the NFL draft and safety Josh Minkins, now at Cincinnati, to the transfer portal. Safety M.J. Griffin continues to recover from a knee injury. He’ll be limited during spring practices and not expected to be 100% until about June, Brohm said. Before the season-ending injury during the 2023 fall camp, Griffin was a projected starter. A fully healthy Griffin likely would retain that position this season.
“I do think the defensive back position is very important to be aggressive on defense, to stop the run, to get after the quarterback,” Brohm said. “You’ve got to be able to play some 1-on-1 matchups occasionally. When you’ve got good secondary players that can do that and can challenge routes and understand route structure and schemes and the timing of how certain blitzes and attacks work, you can make plays.
“… Adding good, aggressive, good-sized defensive backs can help our football team play at a high level.”
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: Louisville football: How Jeff Brohm used portal to patch secondary
