The dog days of August are ramping up, with Louisville’s football season opener against Ole Miss just three weeks away.
The Cardinals had their first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday, Aug. 15. The offense won the day, according to head coach Jeff Brohm.
“(We) probably threw the ball more a little in this scrimmage than we had,” he said. “But overall, (there were) good things and bad, like everything. We’ve just got to get back to work. We play a good opponent that'll test us in a lot of ways, especially with their tempo and their quarterback and running back. And our defense will have to play way better.”
Louisville’s offensive unit is full of playmakers at every skill position and is bolstered by the best tight end room Brohm has had at UofL. While projected starter Brody Foley missed time after suffering a concussion, Jaleel Skinner, Justyn Reid and Julius Miles provide depth and have traded time playing with the first-team unit.
After six open practices and a closed scrimmage, here’s what we've learned about Louisville:
Louisville defense still has work to do
While the Cardinals’ defense has largely been impressive so far this fall, Brohm was less than pleased with the group’s performance in the first scrimmage of the preseason. He said they gave up too many big plays and “had a couple busts here and there that really cost us.” It’s especially of concern with Brohm keeping Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, the SEC’s passing yards leader last season, in mind. He attributed some of the errors to a lack of sustained mental toughness and focus throughout the scrimmage.
“Probably half of it is execution,” Brohm added. “Half of it is we’ve got to reexamine the play-call and make sure that we're in something a little sounder, a little safer. Learn and manage when to take our risk and make sure when we do, that we hit. And if not, then we’ve got to pull that back."
Louisville has fewer quarterbacks, but they're more capable
For as disappointed as Brohm was with the defense’s performance, it was also indicative of the offense’s production. Quarterback play this season is arguably the best Brohm has had at Louisville. Although the Cardinals normally carry as many quarterbacks as possible — they once played nine in a game — they have only five rostered signal-callers and have mainly repped three during spring and fall practices.
Projected starter Lincoln Kienholz, Davin Wydner and Briggs Cherry have all competed well and made big-time plays for what’s expected to be an explosive offense.
“I thought Lincoln had a good day, and it was good because he's had a good camp, and I think he's getting a better grasp,” Brohm said. “We're going to have to make sure we have enough in there to challenge the defense and enough in there where he feels comfortable with to execute early on, where he can handle not only executing, but calling the play and mastering what everyone's supposed to do. Davin's continuing to improve. Briggs can throw the football, just understanding what we're doing.”
Louisville kicking game is coming along
During Louisville’s Aug. 6 media day, Brohm expressed a lack of confidence in the team’s kicking game. The group had added kicker Garth White from Rhode Island and, most recently, Australian punter Niall Hayes, but it still struggled in the earlier practices. Louisville focused on kicking more throughout the practices by adding periods of competition between the kickers. On Thursday, Aug. 13, for example, Louisville attempted four field goals. If the kickers had more makes than misses, the offense won. If had more misses, the defense won.
Carson Hilbert missed the first field goal, but Nick Keller, Bode Shoaps and White hit theirs, resulting in the defense having to do pushups. Competitions were also created between the kickers to see who could kick the furthest.
“We have some new segments there, and we’ve just got to work through it,” Brohm said. “We put them in as many tough situations we have and continue to do that for the next three weeks. They’ve got to, at some point, just believe and have confidence in themselves. There's going to be guys out there that haven't played a whole lot. So they got to know that they're battle-tested, they're well-prepared and they have to go out there and believe in it, and go get it done. And I think they can.”
Miles, Harbin are Louisville's latest moveable pieces
Last year, Louisville moved Shaun Boykins from receiver to running back. It came in handy at the end of the year when the Cardinals were down to Boykins, who transferred to Delaware State during the offseason, and Braxton Jennings, a walk-on who has since earned a scholarship. With some depth and injury concerns at running back, St. Xavier High School graduate receiver Marlon Harbin was moved over to and practiced with the running backs this week. The Mr. Football finalist played both receiver and running back in high school, totaling 688 receiving yards, 10 touchdown receptions, 355 rushing yards and 11 more scores on the ground.
Julius Miles, too, is training at multiple positions. Originally signed as a tight end, Miles has been viewed as a weapon out wide in the red zone and has taken some first-team receiver reps. It’s well within his skillset, too: He was Florida’s No. 86 wide receiver in the 2026 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports, and the Sunshine State’s No. 21 tight end, per ESPN. Louisville has been successful in finding the right spots for its best athletes. The versatility that Miles and Harbin bring as true freshmen will not only be vital for the Cardinals, it'll help the two get on the field sooner.
“Marlon will do whatever you ask, and he goes hard,” Brohm said. “He just has that knack and feel for the game. And you saw that when he played in high school. Julius is just a big athletic target. He’s got to get a little stronger and a little sturdier, but he likes to compete. He loves ball, and he can make plays for us. I think both those guys have a very bright future here.”
Louisville uses caution on managing Isaac Brown’s reps
Some people raised concerns when running back Isaac Brown didn’t practice to start fall camp. The junior phenom has since been a full participant in the Cardinals’ practices. Brohm said Brown “didn’t do as much today” during the scrimmage.
“We'll continue to work through and get him (Brown) back where he's feeling exactly the way we want,” he added. “We've had some other running backs with some few strains, too, because the workload has been pretty good, so we'll have to manage that. But it's something they all can come back from and get healthy.”
The Cardinals have been intentional in limiting Brown’s practice reps to make sure he’s ready and durable for the season. Health became a problem last season when he played through a lower leg injury before it kept him out of four games.
With Brown looking to put together a full season’s worth of tape, he’ll need to stay healthy. The biggest challenge of the season will come in the first game. Ole Miss’s rushing defense ranked 12th in the SEC, but it lost seven starters, and defensive coordinator Pete Golding was elevated to head coach.
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: How Louisville football's Jeff Brohm felt about Cards' first scrimmage