Washington in the Sun Bowl: 10 Louisville players to know

The 8-4 Cardinals have some offensive firepower.

Slim margins separated the Louisville Cardinals from ACC contention this season.

As it was, they finished 5-3 in conference play, tied for fourth place and two games back of second-place Clemson, which obviously defeated SMU in the ACC title game to earn the league’s automatic bid into the College Football Playoff.

Those three defeats — plus a nonconference loss at Notre Dame — each came by seven points or fewer. Prior to Louisville’s disastrous collapse in a 38-35 loss to Stanford — a game it led by 14 points midway through the fourth quarter, before a wild last-minute sequence saw Stanford kick a game-winning, 52-yard field goal as time expired — the Cardinals had been defeated by three opponents whose combined record is now 32-5. Two of them, Notre Dame and SMU, are in the CFP. And the Cardinals defeated ACC champion Clemson, 33-21, on Nov. 2.

So this was a different kind of season for Louisville (8-4, 5-3) than it was for Washington (6-6, 4-5). The two will meet for the first time ever in this year’s Sun Bowl, scheduled for an 11 a.m. PT kickoff on Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas.

As has become customary this time of year, second-year Louisville coach Jeff Brohm was asked on Sunday if he knew of any players who might opt out of the bowl game.

“I’m sure some things are going to pop up here in the next couple weeks,” Brohm said. “... At this point, I’m not aware of that. But I would think before we start practice, we might have some things pop up.”

Near as I can tell, none of the following 10 players — Louisville’s key performers on both sides of the ball — have made any sort of public declaration to suggest they won’t play in the bowl game. If that happens, I’ll update accordingly.

For now, here are 10 Louisville players to know before you tune in on New Year’s Eve.

1. QB Tyler Shough

As a recruit: 4-star, No. 140 overall (2018)

Stats: 244-for-389 passing (62.7%), 3,195 yards, 8.2 YPA, 23 TDs, 6 INTs, 22 big-time throws (per PFF), 9.7 average depth of target (PFF)

(UPDATE: Sure enough, Shough announced that he will skip the bowl game to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft. As far as his backup, Louisville has played both Harrison Bailey, a senior who transferred from UNLV, and Pierce Clarkson, a redshirt freshman from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco. The two have combined for 12 pass attempts this season. Louisville’s roster also includes third-year sophomore Brady Allen, 2024 signee Deuce Adams and a few walk-ons.)

The seventh-year senior is playing for his third school, as he originally signed with Oregon before transferring to Texas Tech, and spent three years each in Eugene and Lubbock. Shough ranks fourth in the ACC in passing and helms an offense that ranks among the best in the league. His best performance against a conference opponent came in a 52-45 defeat to Miami, in which Shough threw for 342 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also threw three touchdown passes (and one interception) in a 31-24 loss to CFP-bound Notre Dame, and threw for 329 yards with two touchdown passes and a pick in a 34-27 loss to CFP-bound SMU. The Cardinals didn’t ask nearly as much of him in their most recent victory, a 41-14 blowout of rival Kentucky that saw Shough complete just 9-of-18 through the air for 128 yards.

2. RB Isaac Brown

As a recruit: 3-star, No. 524 (2024)

Stats: 147 carries, 1,074 yards, 7.3 YPC, 11 TDs; 30 receptions, 152 yards, 1 TD

Louisville’s top rusher was in seventh grade when its starting quarterback first enrolled in college. Brown, a true freshman from Homestead (Fla.) High, averaged 10.4 yards per rush as a high-school senior and is averaging an impressive 7.3 during his first college season. He’s fresh off career highs in carries (26) and yards (178) in Louisville’s win over Kentucky, and has rushed for 100-plus yards in five games en route to breaking the school’s true freshman rushing record set by Lamar Jackson. Listed at 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds, Brown can really accelerate once he finds a crease, and has reportedly run sub-4.6 in the 40-yard dash. He’ll be one of the faster backs UW has seen this season.

3. WR Ja’Corey Brooks

As a recruit: 5-star, No. 27 (2021)

Stats: 61 catches, 1,013 yards, 9 TDs

(UPDATE: Brooks declared for the NFL Draft on Tuesday. While he didn’t indicate in his post that he will sit the bowl game, it’s probably fair to assume that he won’t play.)

In three seasons at Alabama, Brooks caught 57 passes for 896 yards and 10 touchdowns, though his 2023 season was cut short due to injury. In 12 games at Louisville, he has nearly exceeded each of those figures. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Brooks has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in five games this season, including against both SMU and Miami, and six of his nine touchdowns came against Notre Dame, SMU and Miami. With an average depth of target of 15.1 yards, per PFF, Brooks is by far Louisville’s biggest downfield threat, and he leads the team with 14 contested catches. He also leads the team with seven drops, but has been targeted 38 more times than Louisville’s next-leading receiver, Chris Bell. (Interestingly enough, Louisville’s No. 4 receiving target is former Washington tight end Mark Redman, a 2020 signee who is at his third school after transferring from San Diego State.)

4. EDGE Ashton Gillotte

As a recruit: 3-star, No. 1,280 (2021)

Stats: 43 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 10.0 TFLs, 59 pressures (PFF)

Gillotte, a second-team All-ACC selection, is Louisville’s top pass rusher by a wide margin. The 6-foot-3, 275-pound senior from Boca Raton, Fla., ranks fourth among all FBS players in pressures and logged 36 more than any other Cardinals player this season, though his sack and TFL numbers pale in comparison to his 2023 output (11 sacks, 14.5 TFLs). Gillotte has started 39 consecutive games and has appeared in all 51 games Louisville has played since he arrived, and has logged more than 2,000 defensive snaps in his career. Assuming he plays in the game, Gillotte could present a huge challenge for UW’s tackles. If the Huskies can block him, though, they could have a chance to move the ball against a Louisville team that ranks 68th in FBS in pass efficiency defense.

5. LB Stanquan Clark

As a recruit: 4-star, No. 377 (2023)

Stats: 72 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 36 “stops” (per PFF, tackles on plays that are unsuccessful for the offense), 2 INTs, 2 forced fumbles

Clark, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound sophomore from Miami Central High, ranks second on the team in tackles and leads the team in PFF’s “stops” metric. He also has the highest PFF run-defense grade on the team, has played the fifth-most defensive snaps and is tied for the team lead with two interceptions, both against Pittsburgh. Junior linebacker TJ Quinn leads the team in tackles with 79 and leads the defense in snaps played.

6. RT/LT Monroe Mills

As a recruit: 3-star, No. 1,487 (2020)

Stats: 10 starts, 566 snaps, 81.5 PFF offensive grade (77.5 pass blocking, 80.5 run blocking), 1 sack allowed

Mills originally signed with Oklahoma State before transferring to Texas Tech, where the 6-foot-7, 315-pound fifth-year junior spent two seasons as a starter before coming to Louisville. He missed two games this season due to a knee injury, but still is by far the Cardinals’ top-graded offensive lineman. He’s part of an o-line that has allowed only 15 sacks this season, tied for 22nd-fewest in FBS. Mills started the season at left tackle but has played right tackle since returning from injury.

7. CB Quincy Riley

As a recruit: 3-star, No. 1,315 (2019)

Stats: 33 tackles, 3.0 TFLs, 2 INTs, 13 pass breakups, 15 “stops”

A second-team All-ACC pick, Riley leads the conference in pass breakups despite playing in only 10 games. The sixth-year senior from Columbia, S.C., originally signed with Middle Tennessee State, where he spent three seasons before transferring to Louisville. In three years with the Cardinals, Riley has eight interceptions and 34 passes defended. Opposing passers are 32-for-67 for 436 yards (47.8%) with three touchdowns and two interceptions when targeting Riley in coverage this season, per PFF, and his 71.5 NFL passer rating allowed is best among regular Louisville defensive backs.

8. CB Corey Thornton

As a recruit: 3-star, No. 1,681 (2020)

Stats: 34 tackles, 2 INTs, 9 pass breakups

Though Riley gets more headlines, Thornton has a far higher defensive grade from PFF (78.3, to Riley’s 65.1). A senior who spent the previous four seasons at UCF, Thornton has started 49 college games, including 10 as a true freshman in 2020. He had a rough go in Louisville’s loss to Miami, allowing 6-of-9 passing for 77 yards and three touchdowns against him, but has mostly been solid.

9. WR Chris Bell

As a recruit: 3-star, No. 1,288 (2022)

Stats: 37 catches, 677 yards, 4 TDs

Listed at a sturdy 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, Bell has played the fifth-most snaps of any Louisville offensive player, just behind Brooks, and is second on the team in receptions, yards, touchdowns and targets. His two 100-yard games this season came in back to back weeks, against Stanford and Pittsburgh, and he leads Louisville receivers with an average of 8.0 yards after catch per reception. Shough actually has a slightly higher NFL passer rating when targeting Bell than he does Brooks.

10. RB Duke Watson

As a recruit: 4-star, No. 380 (2024)

Stats: 57 carries, 514 yards, 9.02 YPC, 7 TDs; 4 catches, 59 yards, 1 TD

The other half of Louisville’s true-freshman tailback duo, Watson, from Forsyth (Ga.) Mary Persons, has been highly efficient with his opportunities this season. He took 11 carries for 117 yards and three touchdowns against Stanford, and took six carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns against Kentucky. In fact, basically half of his rushing attempts this season — 28 of 57 — came in Louisville’s last three games, including an 11-carry, 69-yard performance in the win over Pitt.

Louisville really likes to spread it around in the backfield. A redshirt freshman, Keyjuan Brown, has carried 47 times for 243 yards and three touchdowns, and Donald Chaney, a junior, has 50 carries this season for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Both Brown and Chaney, though, have entered the transfer portal.

One more

I would be remiss if I did not mention that 6-foot-3, 275-pound Louisville defensive lineman/edge rusher Ramon Puryear — a former walk-on from Louisville’s Eastern High — has returned three fumbles for touchdowns this season. He is the first Louisville player to score three defensive touchdowns in a season, and also is the school’s career leader in games played with 66. He’s started seven of 12 games this year and has played the ninth-most defensive snaps on the team.

— Christian Caple, On Montlake