RB coach Chris Barclay is still enthusiastic about Louisville’s running back room despite the departures

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In the first year of the Jeff Brohm era, many expected the Louisville football program’s offensive efforts to be fueled by a spectacular passing attack. Instead, it was the strong players that built the offense.

Through the end of their 2023 seasons, both Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo have rushed for 1,000 yards from scrimmage and scored double-digit touchdowns, combining for 2,418 yards and 25 touchdowns. In total, they accounted for 41.6 percent of the Cardinals’ total yardage and 47.2 percent of their total offensive touchdowns.

Both backs are now in the NFL, with Guerendo being drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in April by the San Francisco 49ers and Jordan in the sixth round by the Houston Texans. Louisville even had some turnover on the portal front, as former Toledo RB Peny Boone — the No. 11 rusher in college football last season — left the Cardinals after spring ball after transferring last winter.

But even though the league has lost two extremely productive runners, running back coach Chris Barclay is still very fond of his position.

“We have talent,” he said in an interview on The Mike Rutherford Show on Wednesday. “We can run, we’re physical, we can protect passes, we can be involved in the passing game. We have all the ingredients, we just have to go out there and record it. It’s going to take a collective effort, and I think each of these guys pushes each other every day, and they have complete confidence in each and every one of the guys in the room that they can do it. We’re excited.”

Next season, the running back team will likely be carried by the duo of Miami transfer Donald Chaney Jr. and returner Maurice Turner. Last season with the Canes, Chaney ran for 478 yards and two touchdowns and also caught five passes for 15 yards. Turner ran for 284 yards and one touchdown and also caught 11 passes for 87 yards.

Those stats may not be noticeable to most at first glance, but behind the scenes, the duo has made tremendous progress this offseason. Both Chaney and Turner looked good in spring ball earlier this year, have taken on leadership roles at the position and have started summer workouts. Barclay really likes the momentum both players have built.

“They’ve done a great job,” he said. “It helps when you have guys with some experience who have been in the firing line and played in key moments in games. These two young men have taken the bull by the horns so to speak this summer and really taken the leadership role in the room and made their voices heard. That really helped.”

While Chaney and Turner will likely get the bulk of the action as running backs, the other three scholarship players at the position will all likely play a role in the upcoming 2024 season. During spring ball, true freshman early enrollee Isaac Brown looked like arguably the fastest player at the position, and fellow incoming freshman Duke Watson is a top-400 prospect.

But overall, Barclay believes Keyjuan Brown is the running back who has given the Cardinals their best game this spring. He credits Brown’s dedication to weight training, which has seen him lose 15 pounds and now weigh around 208 pounds, which in turn has helped him improve all the facts of his game.

“He looks like blue, twisted steel. I’m excited about him,” Barclay said. “He’s running really well, his change of direction has really improved and he’s gotten faster too. He’s hit over 20 miles an hour a couple times in the spring, which is really nice to see. He’s powerful when he runs. And he’s fast. He’s got some foot speed, he’s deceptively fast.”

Perhaps the most admirable quality of the room as a whole, according to Barclay, is that there is no sense of entitlement. Each player carries a chip on their shoulder and they “understand what’s at stake” for the upcoming 2024 season. Building on a 10-4 season in 2023 that also saw them reach the ACC Championship Game, Louisville has positioned itself for another successful season this fall.

That hasn’t stopped Barclay from continuing to try to get the boys motivated, however. He mentioned that he recently saw a list of the 50 best running backs in college football that didn’t include a single Louisville player, and sent it to his guys in the middle of the night.

“I sent it to them at 12:30 this morning. I said, ‘Guys, just so you know, we’ve got a lot of work to do,'” he said. “I explained to them the other day that Isaac Guerendo wasn’t on the roster last year, I’m almost certain. But you know what, he had a great summer, worked his ass off and got on the roster. And he was the first draft pick we had in the last NFL Draft. So I told the guys, ‘Hey, man, it’s whatever you want. The sky’s the limit. You guys have to make a name for yourself, we have to make a name for ourselves, because we’re underrated,’ and that’s OK.”

(Photo by Maurice Turner: Sam Navarro – USA TODAY Sports)

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