Louisville Football put on a semi-competitive showcase for the first time since the Citrus Bowl in the annual spring game, and as expected, reigning Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson did what he did best and lit up the scoreboard in front of the announced crowd of 14,000.
The junior quarterback was 19-36 through the air for 346 yards and three touchdowns, as well as a rushing score for the Red team. Second string quarterback Jawon Pass, who started for the White team, didn’t have quite the outing that Jackson did, as he threw for 20-37, as well as 4 interceptions, including a pick-six by Jaire Alexander. However, it is worth noting that 3 of his 4 picks came off of deflected balls.
In the wake of Dae Williams’ ACL injury just a couple of weeks prior, converted QB/WR Reggie Bonnafon got the start at tailback for the Red team. He ran for 48 yards on 11 attempts, while Trey Smith for the White team ran for 60 yards on 17 attempts, although he did fumble twice.
The most noteworthy performance from the spring game had to be from WR Dez Fitzpatrick. Although Coach Petrino had previously mentioned he would mostly get reps from the slot position, the redshirt freshman got mostly reps from the wideout spot, and hauled in 9 passes for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns, including an 80 yard screen play.
On the defensive side, both familiar faces and new ones stepped up to contribute. Safety Dee Smith had 13 tackles, while inside linebacker Stacy Thomas had 6.5, while freshmen CJ Avery and Lyn Strange stepped up in key moments to make plays.
