Louisville football running back depth on display as Jeff Brohm's Cards begin season 2-0
Unlike Reilly accepting Chancellor’s proposal during a timeout Saturday at L&N Stadium, Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm couldn’t say yes to just one running back. And he didn't have to.
Maurice Turner, Keyjuan Brown, Donald Chaney and Duke Watson each scored in the 24th-ranked Cardinals’ 49-14 win over Jacksonville State, as U of L improved to 2-0.
"It was a big-time job by that room just stepping up," Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough said of his teammates. "We knew that we were going to face some different looks this week, some light boxes. (Jacksonville State was) going to kick out, play man sometimes, but they (running backs) were running hard the whole time, so it makes it easy on me when we're even getting those run checks."
Any questions about how Louisville’s running game would fare after Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo left for the NFL seemed to have been answered in the first two weeks of the season. The running back room is deeper and arguably more talented this year than last with the young talent leading the way.
The Cardinals had a different leading rusher in each of the first two games. Last year, Jordan averaged 115.5 yards during the first two contests as the leading rusher.
"They all have different elements that make them very useful and beneficial to the team," Brohm said of the running backs. "It just makes your team better when you can utilize more guys, keep them fresh, not get guys beat up. I think the offensive line's been really, really good to this point as well in the run game and passing game of opening up holes and providing protection."
Turner, whose strength is his shiftiness, took his turn this week with a team-leading 60 yards on 12 carries and a 1-yard touchdown. The junior came up key in the final quarter, helping Louisville eat up the clock. U of L’s first series of the fourth quarter took up seven minutes with Turner being responsible for 25 of the 96 yards.
Although Isaac Brown didn’t score in the first half, he was just as important to the Cardinals’ offense Saturday as the other backs. After a game-best 123-yard rushing performance in the season opener, the true freshman averaged 6.8 yards per carry during the first two quarters against Jacksonville State.
Ironically, it was the lowest of the four Cardinals backs who played in the first half, with redshirt freshman Keyjuan “Bama” Brown averaging 13.3 yards per rush before ending the game averaging 10.2 yards per rush. The elder Brown scored on a 22-yard run with 3:57 left in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead, about seven minutes after Chaney’s 10-yard rushing TD. Chaney was limited after sustaining a high ankle sprain.
Of Louisville’s six first-half drives, a running back was involved in the first play on half the drives. Turner, the Cardinals’ starter, opened the game with a 3-yard run, and Isaac Brown caught a 10-yard pass from Shough, who had 349 passing yards and two TDs, to start the second series.
The trend continued in the second half with a running back being featured on the first play of four of the team’s five drives. Turner had the first touches on two of the drives, and Keyjuan Brown had a 24-yard catch during the second drive of the third quarter. With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Watson, a true freshman who entered in the fourth quarter, added a 40-yard touchdown run.
Despite the early success, there's still plenty of season left and plenty for the group to show.
"We haven’t reached our full potential yet," Keyjuan Brown said. "I feel like we can do better heading into the season. So it’s probably still a little bit (of a question) there, but it's going to get erased."
The team will have a week off before being tested by Georgia Tech in the ACC opener Sept. 21 at L&N Stadium.
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 score vs Jacksonville State: RBs shine in win
