Louisville vs. Ole Miss defensive snap counts: Only one player has more than 70 snaps

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A lot of the talk about the Louisville football defense during the preseason had been about the added depth at certain positions, including in the secondary. And the staff used some of that depth in the opener. In Sunday’s 41-38 loss to No. 9 Ole Miss, Louisville football played 22 guys on the defensive side of the ball, and only one player – Antonio Watts – played more than 69 snaps. Ole Miss ran 81 plays on offense, and Watts was on the field for all but one play. Of the 22 players who saw the field for Louisville football, every one of them played 12 or more snaps. Here’s a complete breakdown of Louisville’s defensive snap counts from Week 1: DEFENSIVE TACKLE Player (Year)Snap countSeason totalTommy Ziesmer (Sr.)4444Joshua Donald (Jr.)3838Daylen Russell (Jr.)3030Demeco Kennedy (Jr.)1919Bailey Abercrombie (So.)1616 Demeco Kennedy was the starter and expected to be the leader at this position. He was injured late in the first half and never came back into the game. Joshua Donald has the most tackles from this group with four. He and Miami transfer Daylen Russell were both listed as starters in the spot next to Kennedy. Russell had three tackles. Bailey Abercrombie wasn’t listed on the two-deep chart but played snaps in both halves. He picked up his first career tackle. DEFENSIVE END Player (Year)Snap countSeason totalClev Lubin (5th)6161AJ Green (Sr.)4343Tyler Thompson (Sr.)2828Micah Carter (Sr.)2626Jerod Smith (Jr.)2222 Clev Lubin is the leader of this position group, and he played the most snaps by a long shot. He had three tackles and a forced fumble. He did not have a sack, but was close several times. AJ Green has really stepped up, and he had the most tackles in the group with four. Green graded out higher than anyone else on the defensive side of the ball. Tyler Thompson also graded out high, and he was in for 19 plays that were passing plays. LINEBACKER Player (Year)Snap countSeason totalAntonio Watts (5th)8080TJ Capers (Sr.)6262Stanquan Clark (Sr.)5454Cam White (So.)2828Ben Perry (5th)1717 It was a rough night for the Louisville linebackers, with none of them grading among the defense’s top five performers. Cam White graded out the highest and had a really nice night, playing most of his snaps in the second half. He ended up with three tackles and had the one TFL for the Cardinals. Antonio Watts only had two tackles, but he had the pass deflection and was seemingly all over the field. Watts was off the field for only one play. Stanquan Clark had six tackles and the interception, but a bad unsportsmanlike penalty late. CORNERBACK Player (Year)Snap countSeason totalDJ Waller (Jr.)6969Jabari Mack (5th)5757Brycen Scott (Jr.)2222Myles Norwood (5th)1212 The biggest thing with the cornerback position was that fifth-year standout Tayon Holloway didn’t play. He was dressed and had his helmet but never got into the game. He had been dealing with an ankle injury, but was on the depth chart as the starter. DJ Waller had four tackles but had a huge penalty on special teams with the roughing-the-kicker call. Waller was also burned on a couple of the long pass plays by Ole Miss. Brycen Scott started the game, but once Jabari Mack came into the game, he was the main guy opposite Waller. Mack had the costly penalty for the hit out of bounds. SAFETY Player (Year)Snap countSeason totalKoen Entringer (5th)6565Kaleb Beasley (Jr.)5151T.J. Banks (Jr.)4747 Koen Entringer led the defense in tackles with seven but didn’t grade out well at just 54 percent. He made several hard hits, but will need to do more for the defense. Playing against his former team, TJ Banks had six tackles and a pass breakup. Kaleb Beasley had four tackles and also had a pass breakup.