Louisville Football: 5 biggest questions facing the Cardinals in spring 2018

Louisville football is nearing the kickoff of its 2018 spring game and the Cardinals have plenty of questions to answer. What are the five biggest?

Losing Lamar Jackson doesn’t help matters heading into the 2018 season, but the Louisville Cardinals may have enough pieces in place to avoid a major drop-off.

The Cardinals finished the 2017 season with an 8-5 record and Bobby Petrino would be the first to admit that it was a disappointing year. Jackson was one of the best players in the country, but the defense failed to step up, allowing about 390 total yards per game.

In a year when Jackson passed for over 3,600 yards with 27 touchdowns and rushed for another 1,601 yards and 18 scores. That’s over 5,000 yards of total offense with 45 touchdowns, yet it wasn’t enough to lead the Cardinals to more than eight wins. Questions must be answered this spring.

What’re the five biggest questions facing Louisville this spring?

5. Can the defense return to dominance?

The 2017 season was a disappointing time for the Louisville defense. The Cardinals allowed about 390 yards of total offense per game, a far cry from the dominant years of Louisville’s defense, dating back to the Charlie Strong days.

In fact, let’s flash things back to 2013. The Cardinals had one of the best defenses in the nation, allowing 251 total yards per game. That’s 140 yards less per game than they had in 2017, even with some big names on the roster such as Jaire Alexander, Dorian Etheridge, Trevon Young and both Jonathan Greenard and James Hearns.

Luckily for the Cardinals, strong pieces will be returning. Greenard could be one of the best pass-rushing defensive linemen in the country this upcoming season and Etheridge is one of the nation’s most underrated linebackers.

Will we see an improved defense this spring?