Louisville has three running backs that have played extensively, and coach Charlie Strong said Monday that the Cardinals -- ranked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll -- plan to play four running backs against the Bobcats.
"We don't have the rotation set yet, but they will all play," Strong said during his weekly teleconference. "Eventually, you'd like to see one guy emerge. If that doesn't happen, I guess it's a good problem to have a lot of options."
Later in the teleconference, Strong said senior Senorise Perry would get the start.
Perry and junior Dominique Brown have played a lot for the Cardinals, and newly arrived transfer Michael Dyer started for two seasons at Auburn before he sat out last season after leaving the Tigers' program.
Perry (6 feet, 187 pounds) was Louisville's second-leading rusher (705 yards) last season; he missed the last two games with a torn ACL.
Brown (6-2, 216) missed last season with a knee injury suffered during spring practice. He started three games in 2011 and was second on the team in rushing with 533 yards. Brown arrived at Louisville as a quarterback and was used frequently as a "Wildcat" formation quarterback as a true freshman in 2010 before moving to running back.
Dyer (5-9, 215), a junior, rushed for 2,335 yards and 15 touchdowns during his two seasons at Auburn, with nine 100-yard games. He rushed for 1,093 yards as a freshman in 2010, breaking the school freshman record of 829 yards set by Bo Jackson in 1982.
The fourth running back is sophomore Corvin Lamb (5-9, 212), who played in 11 games last season and had 13 carries. He was a high school teammate of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater at Miami Northwestern.
Strong and his staff have a while to sort out the position. Louisville's four non-conference opponents are Ohio, FCS member Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky and FIU. The first real test should come in Game 6, an. Oct. 10 home contest against Rutgers.
"The key for us (this season) is the whole approach on how we manage expectations," Strong said.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
