Louisville football position preview: Defensive line

Previous position previews: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line 

As a unit, Louisville’s defense was up and down for the majority of the 2024 season. 

The Cards had good weeks and bad weeks on that side of the ball. Shutouts like week one against Austin Peay and giving up just nine points in the second-to-last game of the season against Pittsburgh were a couple of the highlights. But, the home loss to SMU, where the Cards forced just six incompletions and gave up 113 yards on the ground to Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings, as well as Miami’s 52-point performance, were head scratchers. 

Simply put, Louisville’s defense had holes last season, including a few on the defensive line — a group that struggled to generate a pass rush and contain running quarterbacks. Teams gameplanned for NFL draftee and edge Ashton Gillotte (Kansas City Chiefs), who saw his production drop after an 11-sack 2023. In 2024, the third-round pick got to the quarterback for just 4.5 sacks. 

As a team, the Cardinals were in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing defense (132.5 y/g), pass rush (34 sacks), and forced fumbles (nine). Not great for the D-Line, but not a detriment either. It’s worth noting that the group played significantly better as the season progressed and had two of their better performances after November against Clemson and Pittsburgh. 

Not only does Louisville lose an All-ACC lineman in Gillottee, but also departing are Dez Tell (graduation), Ramon Puryear (graduation), Jared Dawson (Notre Dame), and Tramel Logan (graduation), who were crucial pieces and generated 101 combined tackles and 12 sacks last fall. 

The Cards’ defensive front needed more speed, strength, and athleticism than they had last year. And defensive line coach Mark Hagen and co-defensive coordinator Ron English added that on the edge through the transfer portal. 

Perhaps the most talked-about addition to Louisville’s 2025 defense is redshirt-junior and former Coastal Carolina edge, Clev Lubin. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound pass rusher has bounced around all over the country in his college career. Before arriving in the Ville, Lubin redshirted at Army and played a season at both Iowa Western (Junior College) and Coastal Carolina. At Western, the Suffern, New York, native won a national championship and was named an All-American. According to On3’s transfer portal rankings, he was the No. 17 edge available in the portal. 

Lubin brings raw athleticism and speed to the line, and as a sophomore, he got to the quarterback for 9.5 sacks and forced three fumbles. Expect Lubin to be Louisville’s sack leader this fall. Phil Steele has him as a preseason third-team All-ACC member. 

On the other side of the line of scrimmage lies another transfer in Rutgers’ Wesley Bailey. The redshirt senior is humongous, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 265 pounds this spring. The former Scarlet Knight only played in four games last season, logging eight tackles, but in the previous two seasons, he combined for 13 tackles for loss and 57 tackles. Bailey is productive as a run-stopper and can lumber his way to the quarterback. This spring, the Canadian consistently got first-team reps and will bring power-four experience and production to the Cardinals’ front four. 

Working our way to the interior, we see a pair of returnees: redshirt-senior Jordan Geurad and graduate Rene Konga. Konga, another Canadian and Rutgers transfer, may be primed for a big year at defensive tackle after logging 20 tackles in 11 games and six starts for Louisville last fall, which was the best season of his career. At 300 pounds, Konga is a mammoth for interior offensive linemen to deal with. He has a chance to plug holes and stop the run at an elite level in 2025 and could be an All-ACC candidate if he stays healthy. 

Geurad is probably the best run-stopper on the roster. He’s got good speed for his size and can track down rushers once they get past him, and also has some nice rush moves, but has yet to play a full season in the red and black. After coming over from Florida International, Geurad missed the start of last year due to injury, but finished strong, earning the team’s “Lineman of the Game” award in the Sun Bowl win against Washington. Versus the Huskies, he tallied two tackles for loss and a sack.

Backing those two up, it looks to be transfers Dezel Lowry and Jerry Lawson as the first to fill in. Lowry had an extremely productive 2024, in which he led Old Dominion’s D-linemen with 51 tackles and was one of the best run-stoppers in the Sun Belt. He will play this fall and be a valuable rotation piece. While Lawson may be small in size for a power-four defensive tackle, the 6-foot-2, 295-pound Abiline Christian transfer could be the best interior pass rusher Louisville’s defense has. He had 14 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 14 starts last season and was named first-team all-conference. Lawson has two years of eligibility remaining, so while he may not put up massive numbers this fall, he has room to grow, and we may even see him move on the outside at times. 

No one is talking about Adonijah Green, yet he has the most inherent pass-rushing skills on the roster and might be the most talented defensive lineman the Cards have. With a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Green was the No. 191 player in the 2023 class. He towers above everyone else on the field, but for the better part of his first two seasons at Louisville, he’s been tasked with adding more weight and muscle. The 6-foot-6 defensive end with NFL upside is now up to 250 pounds and played in all 13 games, being credited with 12 tackles. In the spring, Green was given multiple first-team pass rush reps and could be unleashed this fall as a redshirt sophomore. 

Besides Green, Lubin, and Bailey on the outside, other options include Justin Beadles and Micah Carter. Carter was a three-star coming out of St. Xavier (Louisville) and was the No. 2 player out of the commonwealth. He redshirted last season, not seeing any action, but has a chance to develop into a rotational lineman this year. Beadles comes over from New Mexico State after committing in April and logged 20 tackles in 2024. 

The bottom line

I’d argue that despite the loss of guys like Ashton Gillotte and Tramel Logan, who led the Cardinals in sacks a year ago, Louisville’s defensive line is actually in a better spot today than it was a year ago. Mark Hagen and Ron English have talented, productive, and experienced rotational players as depth pieces and also added two high-quality pass rushers who can get to the quarterback in Clev Lubin and Wesley Bailey. Rene Konga, Adonijah Green, and Jordan Geurad are three players not many in the area are talking about this summer, but all have All-ACC breakout potential. 

Expected depth chart

• Defensive end: Wesley Bailey, R-Sr. 6-5, 265 lbs — Adonijah Green, R-So. 6-6, 250 lbs 
• Defensive tackle: Rene Konga, R-Sr 6-4, 300 lbs — Jerry Lawson, R-Jr. 6-2, 295 lbs 
• Nose tackle: Jordan Guerad, R-Sr. 6-2, 300 lbs — Denzel Lowry, R-Sr. 6-1, 290 lbs 
• EDGE: Clev Lubin, R-Jr. 6-3, 250 lbs — Justin Beadles, R-Sr. 6-5, 270 lbs