Louisville Football: 3 upperclassmen who need to step up in 2022

3. Yasir Abdullah, OLB

Like most other schools in their tier, Louisville needs its stars to play like stars. One of the reasons the defense played well often last season was Yasir Abdullah. The rising senior led the Cardinals in sacks last season with ten and was fourth in tackles (60).

If anything, Adbullah needs help in the pass rush department. When you have a player with such a high sack total, usually there is another player who has somewhat comparable numbers. There is a significant drop-off after Abdullah’s ten sacks, with Ashton Gillote second on the team in sacks (four).

Next season, Louisville must expect teams to check for Adbullah and where he lines up in the “Dog” outside linebacker position. The Cardinals are multiple but use the down linemen and four linebackers in its base defense. Louisville needs another pass rusher, either one of their defensive ends or another outside backer, to step up and get some heat on the quarterback.

However, Abdullah has to play as well this fall as he did last fall. He is a player who is equally good against the pass and the run. For the Cardinals to continue playing good defense, Abdullah has to be the anchor of the defense.