Louisville football position preview: Linebackers
Previous position previews: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line
Louisville’s linebacker room might be its best and deepest on the defensive side of the ball.
I’m even willing to put it as one of the best linebacker groups in the ACC and the Cards’ second-best position room overall behind the running backs.
With the transfer portal becoming open free-agency in college football, it feels rare when players stay and continue to make an impact at the school they committed to in high school. Not for the Cardinals’ three best tacklers and defensive playmakers: Antonio Watts, Stanquan Clark, and T.J. Quinn. All three started their careers at the U of L and are now upperclassmen leading the defense in the Red and Black.
Clark led the team with 43 solo tackles last fall. The junior from Miami, Florida, was all over the field making plays for the Cards last season. He had five games with seven or more tackles and totaled 7.5 tackles for loss, which was second on the roster. The All-ACC honorable mention also picked off two passes in 2024. Without question, Clark is the leader of Louisville’s defensive unit. He was a top-350 player coming out of high school, and once he became a full-time starter last August, he’s taken off sprinting with the role. Phil Steele has the 6-foot-3 Clark as a second-team All-ACC member this preseason.
Louisville’s weak-side linebacker may be Louisville’s all-around best player on the defense, but he isn’t the only preseason All-ACC member on Steele’s list. Redshirt senior T.J. Quinn was named preseason fourth-team All-ACC, making the U of L one of three schools to have multiple linebackers mentioned — North Carolina State and Pittsburgh.
Quinn is the true “Mike” linebacker. He’s led the Cards in tackles for two consecutive seasons, and many fans have known the Quinn name for quite some time, as T.J.’s father, Terry, played for the Cards from 1991-94 at defensive back. This past season, the Valdosta, Georgia, native started all 13 games and had 82 tackles. Quinnm, who came to Louisville as a safety, is one of the best run stoppers on the roster and also added 1.5 sacks. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound MLB was recently at ACC Football media days, and there’s little doubt that Quinn will be a leader for this Cardinals defense.
“I feel like, as a linebacker, in our defense, they allow us to do many different things, and come off the edge, play from the middle. And just as far as trying to get my game better this year, I’ve just been doing everything, just watching film with my coaches and seeing what I need to improve on,” Quinn said Wednesday in Charlotte.
He will be wearing Louisville’s in-helmet communication system this season.
Watts, the hero from Louisville’s 35-34 Sun Bowl win over Washington, also returns as the star linebacker. It’s a hybrid of a nickel corner and linebacker who sees a lot of action in third-down coverages and passing packages. As a versatile athlete, Watts is comfortable in coverage, but is big enough (6-2, 225 lbs) to be physical in the ground game at the line of scrimmage. In his first year as a full-time starter, Watts finished the year with a career-best 51 tackles, also adding three passes defended and a forced fumble. Fans will remember his pass breakup in the end zone on the Huskies’ two-point try in the bowl game.
Watts is cerebral. He has good instincts and flashed great poise and athleticism at times last year. He should be able to take a big leap as a redshirt junior and become a more forceful defender.
Having three returners on the second level of the Cards’ defense has been an undervalued aspect of Louisville’s offense. All three were productive last season and have a chemistry that jives. Sometimes the best gets are the ones you already have.
Also in the rotation is T.J. Capers, who was one of the highest-rated recruits in Louisville football history coming out of Columbus High School (Fla.). After considering transferring this spring, Capers will return to the Cards for his redshirt sophomore season. It’s been a slow process for the former top-200 recruit at the U of L. He didn’t see the field after enrolling early as a true freshman, and last year saw most of his playing time on special teams, tallying just six tackles. Although he did get his first career interception in the season opener against Austin Peay.
Capers has looked good in spring ball as the second-string middle linebacker and will surely see more snaps this fall, but we haven’t been able to see him put it all together in an actual game. But again, the talent in this room is evident.
A rare transfer for linebackers coach Mark Ivey is Kalib Perry, a Georgetown, Kentucky, native and Tennessee transfer. At UT, Perry played in 12 games as a reserve last season, recording 26 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. The senior never broke through with the Volunteers.
Celeb Matelau is someone to keep a close eye on early this fall in camp and the Cards’ first few games. The true freshman has excellent intangibles and loves hitting — which is always something you look for in linebackers at the college level. He was the No. 109-ranked linebacker in the 2025 class.
The bottom line
Mark Ivey has as an experienced linebacker group as he’s had since he took over the position. These guys have chemistry, they work well together, and all three starters have played significant snaps in a Louisville uniform. Clark has a chance to be an NFL-caliber linebacker, and Watts is just scratching the surface of his capabilities as the star. Not to mention, Quinn being the experienced leader in control of the defense and wearing the in-helmet communication. This group will be fierce. For depth purposes, it’s nice to have a guy like Perry who has played in the SEC and is comfortable stepping in at any position, and Capers is ready for a production jump. Louisville’s linebacker room will be one of its best in the fall of 2025.
Expected depth chart
- MLB — T.J. Quinn, R-Sr, 6-1, 235 lbs — T.J. Capers, R-So, 6-2, 225 lbs
- WLB — Stanquan Clark, Jr, 6-3, 235 lbs — Kalib Perry, R-Sr, 6-3, 230 lbs
- STAR — Antonio Watts, R-Jr, 6-2, 225 lbs — Caleb Matelau, Fr, 6-1, 225 lbs
