2023 Louisville Offensive Line

Mark BlankenbakerAugust 22, 2023

Louisville’s offensive line a year was a top unit on an 8-win team and the Cards returned 3 of its 5 starters. Trevor Reid is deep into NFL Training Camp with the Atlanta Falcons, Caleb Chandler finished an outstanding career at UofL at Guard as did Adonis Boone. Luke Kandra did follow Scott Satterfield to his hometown Cincinnati.

But the Cards returned Bryan Hudson at Center and two tackles Michael Gonzalez (who played 4 of 5 positions last year on the line) and Renato Brown that will likely move to guard for the 2023 season. As with a lot of the positions in 2023, Jeff Brohm went into the portal and found some GEMS.

The truth about ‘depth’ is that Louisville probably has 7-8 starters here. Who is listed first on the top line the week of Georgia Tech probably plays mostly at that spot….. BUT…. Renato Brown and Michael Gonzalez might be listed at guard and move to tackle for a series or if someone gets injured. Point is Louisville’s offensive line has a lot of flexibility depending on what the roster needs.

Left Tackle

Jeff Brohm went into the portal and found Rutgers transfer Willie Tyler. Tyler is a HUGE person and has played at Louisiana Monroe, Texas and finally at Rutgers last season. Tyler has played a lot of football and is originally from Wisconsin where he played mostly on the defensive line.

Trevonte Sylvester came to Louisville from Houston and played 114 snaps as the backup Left Tackle in 2022, mostly on special teams as a redshirt freshman. But it’s tough to tell just how close true freshmen Joe Crocker and Luke Burgess are from the #2 spot. But Crocker & Burgess possess immense size and a framework that suggests potential starter down the line. Crocker has drawn some praise from Richard Owens during camp. But this picture behind Willie Tyler is too up in the air to draw definitive conclusions.

My Projected Depth Chart

#55 Willie Tyler (6’6, 320, R-Sr.)
#70 Trevonte Sylvester (6’6, 280, R-So) OR
#78 Joe Crocker (6’7, 310, Fr.) OR
#76 Luke Burgess (6’8, 300, Fr.)

Left Guard

Michael Gonzalez is a bit of a victim of his versatility. Louisville lost All-American Caleb Chandler at Left Guard who was there for the past 4 years, and Jeff Brohm got two really good tackles out of the portal. Michael is a guy that played LT, LG, RG and RT for the Cards in 2022. It appeared that Gonzalez was going to be the next Left Tackle for Louisville, but because of need and the availability of other tackles, Michael moves inside. Gonzalez is SMART and always seems to make the right physical play wherever he ends up lining up on a particular play.

John Paul Flores was All-Ivy League at Dartmouth before transferring to Virginia for the 2022 season. JPL is a super senior that has played A LOT of football including last year in the ACC. Madden Sanker joins the Cards as a high level 4-star interior offensive lineman with offers from all over the country. Madden is behind two very experienced players to start the season and we’ll see how long it takes for him to move up the ladder.

My Projected Depth Chart

#68 Michael Gonzalez (6’4, 305, Jr.)
#67 John Paul Flores (6’4, 305, R-Sr.)
#73 Madden Sanker (6’5, 310, Fr.)

Center

Louisville is led at Center by Bryan Hudson. Hudson is preseason ALL-ACC, he’s on the Rimington and Outland Trophy Watch List. The Cards got Hudson from Virginia Tech after playing for the Hokies in 2019 & 2020. Bryan has been a mainstay along the offensive line at UofL for the past two seasons and figures to be a cornerstone this year at Center.

Behind Hudson is Austin Collins. Austin famously was pressed into service for the final game of the 2020 season vs. Wake Forest when the Cards had several COVID-outs and Austin played Center for Louisville, despite never playing the position before. But now Austin seems like he might be next in line at center for UofL.

My Projected Depth Chart

#61 Bryan Hudson (6’5, 305, R-Sr.)
#51 Austin Collins (6’3, 290, R-So)
#60 Sam Secrest (6’6, 305, R-Fr.)

Right Guard

Fans are used to seeing Renato Brown at Right Tackle and this year Renato moves inside to Right Guard for Jeff Brohm. Renato has been on the field since Day 1 at UofL and has been a starter beginning with the 2020 season. Renato is a physical player and the move inside should suit him very well while also giving UofL flexibility on its roster.

My Projected Depth Chart

#56 Renato Brown (6’4, 315, R-Jr.)
#71 Joshua Black (6’2, 280, R-Jr.)
#72 Emmanual Sowders (6’4, 290, Gr.)

Right Tackle

Jeff Brohm called up a familiar player in the transfer portal and brought Eric Miller down to Louisville with him. Eric played the previous 4 seasons at Purdue and started both at left and right tackle in 2022 for the Boilermakers. Miller is BIG and imposing at his spot and he’s played a lot of football in the Jeff Brohm system in the Big Ten.

Houston transfer Lance Robinson started 11 games in 2022 for the Cougars. Robinson also played the 2021 & 2020 seasons at Middle Tennessee State.

My Projected Depth Chart