Spring Game: 5 Offensive Players to Watch

With Friday’s spring football game quickly approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a few players to watch. Surely, you all know about guys like DeVante Parker, Dominique Brown, Eli Rogers, and others that have made a name for themselves already. But this list will be guys who maybe haven’t gotten much playing time to this point because they were playing behind someone else, or maybe because they were in high school last year!

So while you are at the game on Friday night, and some guys are making plays and you look at your roster to see who it was, you can say “Hey I read about this guy on Cardinal Sports Zone!” Ok maybe that’s just my goal for 1 person to do that, but we will see.

QB #11 Will Gardner (SO)

This may seem like an obvious one, but here is your guy who is likely going to take over for Teddy Bridgewater. From everything we have seen in the spring, Gardner will be the starting quarterback. It looks like the door may be open for Trinity’s Reggie Bonnafon to come in and compete when he gets to campus, but for now, it is Gardner’s job. The 6’5 sophomore has great size, and Bobby Petrino has just raved about him everytime he talks about him. He says he is surprised at how athletic he is and says he tested very well when the team went through their testing days, similar to their version of the NFL Combine. It will be interesting to see how Gardner has picked up on the scheme and tempothat Petrino wants to run.

RB #34 L.J. Scott (FR)

When spring practice first started, there was a running back out there making plays nearly every time he touched the ball. I looked down at my roster, and saw that it was L.J. Scott. My first reaction was “Well that is nice and all, but this kid is a freshman. So I will remember his name for a couple years down the road.” I am confident in saying you want to remember his name for THIS season. From everything I have seen, this freshman has to see the field in 2014. I understand we have running backs to the likes of Brown, Dyer, Radcliff, and Lamb. But L.J. Scott didn’t enroll at UofL early just to sit around and redshirt this season. He has come to play. Remember when he did this last year in high school?

WR #86 Matt Milton (Sr)

I feel like I have been saying for 5 years that Matt Milton will have a breakout season. It just feels that way because Milton got here before the 2012 season and he had to sit out after transferring from Tennessee. I saw him at practice and he looked like one of the best receivers on the field, and by the way, he is 6’5. So entering the 2013 season when he was eligible to play, I told everyone to watch for him. Not much happened. He played in 4 games and had 1 catch for 6 yards. Good job by me there. But I am giving this another shot. Matt Milton will have the season we have been waiting for under Bobby Petrino in 2014. And trust me, he won’t be hard to miss. Look for the 6’5 wide receiver. He has to prove me right eventually…right?

C #61 Tobijah Hughley (So)

To be honest with you, I had never heard of Tobijah Hughley until this week. He is a redshirt sophomore from Lafayette High School in Lexington, KY. He is a player to watch because apparently, Hughley has taken over the starting center position, and Jake Smith has moved to guard. Is this because Hughley is just that good? Or was the guard position in need of someone else, so Smith was the best option and they moved him? We will find out, but this was a very interesting move. We really don’t want to hear much about the offensive line because when you hear about them, they probably did something wrong. But this is one to watch.

TE #89 Keith Towbridge (SO)

Most of you already know about the big stud at tight end, Gerald Christian. But watch out for another big tight end out there, Keith Towbridge. He is listed at 6’5 and 263 pounds, but looks heavier than that really. That is not a knock on him because he can catch the ball and he will be a load to bring down. If you remember back when Petrino was here before, tight ends Gary Barnidge and Scott Kuhn both had solid seasons. So you know Christian will be the main focus at this position, but Towbridge could find himself out there making plays as well.