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Louisville Football: Positional report card for first half of 2017

By Jesse Smith

CLEMSON, SC - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Bobby Petrino of the Louisville Cardinals complains to the official during the second quarter against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CLEMSON, SC - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Bobby Petrino of the Louisville Cardinals complains to the official during the second quarter against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

C. . LB. Louisville. LINEBACKERS

Unfortunately, the unit as a whole is not strong as a whole. Like the defense line, the linebacking unit has helped keep rushing attacks at bay. Besides the Clemson game, you really can’t complain about this unit’s overall effort. Holding offenses to 112.7 yards per game rushing is pretty solid.

The linebacking corps has to take some slack for the passing yards given up because the game is more spread out nowadays. This unit is better at stopping the run than helping the passing game per the numbers.

The guy in the linebacking unit that has been the most impressive is freshman Dorian Etheridge. He wasn’t highly-touted coming out of high school, but currently is a third on the team in tackles with 29, he also has 2.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Etheridge gives Cardinals fans hope for the present and the future.

Senior Stacy Thomas has 27 tackles, two tackles for loss and one interception. He’s the senior leader of the group and besides being one of the top tacklers on the team he provides a ton of experience.

This group gets penalized because the school’s site has a lot of their defensive ends listed at linebacker, but when you see them play they are in a three-point stance.

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