Louisville releases depth chart for Notre Dame game

We’ve got some major surprises, folks.

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

The first official depth chart of the 2019 Louisville football season has been released to the world, and it features some notable surprises.

Here’s what we’re working with in week one versus Notre Dame:

Some thoughts ...

—A couple of big time stunners here in Javian Hawkins beating out Hassan Hall for the starting RB spot and Dayna Kinnaird — who was just put on scholarship last week after Jarrett Jackson left the porgram — unseating Amonte Caban at defensive end.

Hawkins was a guy who there was a lot of buzz around early last year during fall camp, but who never got to showcase why. He appeared in three games, carrying once against Indiana State and fumbling in his only snap against Georgia Tech, a sin which apparently drew an extreme reaction from the prior staff.

It’s a near certainty that Hall will still receive his fair share of touches, but after being billed as the presumed bell cow all offseason, it’s fairly stunning to not see his name at the top of the RB listing, which is where he was entering camp.

—One thing that hasn’t changed since the last depth chart is that Dae Williams still isn’t making an appearance. He’s the most experienced member of Louisville’s RB corps, but for whatever reason, he has not seemed to be in the good graces of the new staff since all the way back in February when spring practice was held.

—Cole Bentley was the starting center the last time we saw a depth chart in June. That distinction now belongs to T.J. McCoy. Scott Satterfield has talked about wanting to have at least seven offensive linemen that he feels comfortable rotating in and out, and it’s hard to see the versatile Bentley not being a part of that group.

—The other four linemen are the same starters that we saw in the spring, which is great for continuity. Less encouraging is the fact that true freshmen are listed as the primary backups at three of the five spots.

—The only “OR” listed is at cornerback, where Cornelius Sturghill and Anthony Johnson are still battling for a starting spot. Sturghill has drawn praise throughout the offseason from the defensive staff, so it still feels like that’s his position to lose.

—Despite being sidelined for the bulk of fall camp, Malik Cunningham is still listed as the primary backup at QB. Assuming he’s good to go, I’d bet money on him being trotted out at multiple positions (including QB) on Monday night.