Louisville Sophomore Now Rubbing Shoulders With Alum Lamar Jackson After Joe Montana’s Harsh Snub

For years, Louisville fans have measured greatness by one name: Lamar Jackson. The former Cardinals quarterback rewrote the program’s record books, scooping up weekly honors almost as easily as he scored touchdowns. Now, a new star is quietly carving out his own legacy — and doing something only a select few Cards have ever managed.

Jeff Brohm played his cards right. With the dust finally settled at Louisville’s home turf after a 51-17 win on August 30, 2025, the Cardinals’ sophomore running back achieved an impressive feat. Not just in terms of earning the ACC Player of the Week honor, but by doing so, he has joined the likes of legendary Cardinals alum, Lamar Jackson, in a distinguished list of achievements. Coming off a fresh season-opening victory against Eastern Kentucky, Isaac Brown’s impressive run-game prowess made it to the game-week highlights. Clinching the ACC Player of the Week title, he has notched up his ACC honor streak to five.

“Isaac Brown is the third Louisville player to be named an ACC Player of the Week five or more times, following Lamar Jackson (9) and Javian Hawkins (5),” Kelly Dickey wrote on X. NFL star and Cardinals legend Lamar Jackson boasts the highest ACC Player of the Week honors in his stash at Louisville, with nine honors. Trailing next, we have Javian Hawkins with five ACC Player of the Week honors. And now, Isaac Brown finds himself in the same league.

And what did it take? Four carries in the opening drive of the first quarter and the rest two carries in the first drive of the second quarter. Isaac Brown had made his mark by the second quarter of play. With less than four minutes into the second quarter, he raised eyebrows with his explosive 68-yard touchdown. Slicing through the line of scrimmage, he outran Kentucky’s Rishad Hence, who had a clear, 5-yard angle to tackle Brown but missed.

Accelerating for the final 55 yards to the end zone, Brown chipped in the touchdown. His work was done, and he moved to the sidelines. Cardinals got the upper hand, a clean 28-0 lead, as Brown baked his run-game prowess into the Player of the Week chart.

The 5’7”, 175-pound running back ran for 126 yards on just six carries, tallying an impressive 21 yards per carry. Scoring two touchdowns on 31 yards and 68 yards, he contributed significantly to generating an early momentum for Louisville. QB1 Miller Moss’ reaction? “I’ve never really had a running back where he gets a step, and no one’s going to tackle him,” Moss said. Well, that says it. Isaac Brown is indeed one of the offensive key weapons in Jeff Brohm’s arsenal.

Even quarterback Miller moved off the turf after chipping in an 8-yard run touchdown by the end of the first half. Eastern Kentucky’s stretched-out chances of making a comeback were pretty clear at that point.

Their first touchdown? By the end of the second quarter, cornerback Vito Tisdale Jr. intercepted Moss’ pass and returned for a 29-yard touchdown. And the head coach is brimming with pride for future victory prospects. “There’s certain guys on our team that we need to have,” Jeff Brohm said. “I mean, they’re playmakers, and it doesn’t matter who’s coaching, you have to have your best players out there playing well,” he said.

Though Isaac Brown is rubbing shoulders with the celebrated alum, Lamar Jackson’s name has been cut off from one NFL legend’s top QB picks.

Lamar Jackson Snubbed Off Joe Montana’s QB List

The NFL countdown has begun. Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson stares down at a heated clash against Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills. Both quarterbacks were shoulder-to-shoulder over last year’s league MVP finalists. Since hitting his cleats on the pro league turf, Jackson made his mark.

Last season, Jackson surpassed NFL legend Michael Vick’s record to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher at the quarterback position, with 5,000 career rushing yards over 82 games. In addition to that, he became the league’s youngest quarterback to start a playoff game at 21 during the 2018 Wild Card round, among other achievements. But he didn’t feature in Joe Montana’s top QB list.

NFL legend Joe Montana recently appeared on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show, listing out his top three quarterback picks if given the opportunity to build around a team in the NFL. His response? Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow, Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, and Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert.

Earlier in July as well, Ravens’ QB wasn’t featured in the top three quarterback poll. He’s a two-time MVP, who completed 66.7% of his passes for 41 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Not to forget the 119.6 passer rating, which, by the way, is fourth in NFL history. Naturally, Jackson would have staked a claim among the top three QBs. But, according to a poll conducted by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, league coaches and executives ranked him No. 4 behind Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow.