Category Archives: Louisville Athletics
UofL Football Picks Up Big Commitment From FL DT Denzel Daxon
Photo Courtesy of 247sports.com
Bobby Petrino got some good recruiting news Saturday night when 3 star FL DT Denzel Daxon committed to UofL Football.
The 6’1 315 lbs Daxon was previously committed to Miami (FL). He plays high school football at Carol City in Miami, FL. Daxon chose UofL over Miami, Florida, Georgia, UK, and others. LD Scott was his lead recruiter per 247sports.com.
In watching Daxon’s highlights, he is a unique blend of power and quickness. He is nearly impossible to block one on one because he will either push the OL straight back into the backfield or use his quick feet to beat the OL to a spot and get free run at the QB or RB.
CSZ’s Coverage Of UofL Football Media Day (Video)
CSZ’s Jeff Nunn, myself Shawn Barbour, and Daniel Spencer were all at UofL Football media day providing coverage for all our loyal readers.
We were able to interview numerous coaches and players, asking some football related questions and some off the wall questions.
Check out our video below to see interviews with Coach Lonnie Galloway, Brian Van Gorder, Jawon Pass, Jaylen Smith, Dee Smith, and a host of others.
Photo Gallery: Football Media Day 2018
On Saturday, August 11th, University of Louisville football team held its annual media day. Here are a few pictures we captured from the event.
UofL Announces Cardinal Stadium Job Fair
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT:
UofL to Host Job Fair for Cardinal Stadium Job Opportunities
The job fair will be held on Saturday, Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 8, 2018
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville will host a job fair on Saturday, Aug. 18 at Cardinal Stadium from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., to hire positions for the upcoming UofL football season.
Billed as the “Staff Signing Day,” Louisville and its partners – Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC), CenterPlate, and the Louisville Special Forces – will be looking for candidates to fill various positions for the seven-game home slate, which begins on Sept. 8 versus Indiana State.
New Era Of UofL Football Breakdown With ACC Digital Network (Video)
Our friends at the ACC Digital Network sat down with Bobby Petrino and Jaylen Smith to talk about what the newest era of UofL football will look like. Take a look below to see what he has to say!
DL Jared Goldwire Is Stabilizing Defensive Line For UofL
Photo Courtesy of @JuCoFootballACE Twitter Account
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT:
Goldwire’s Addition Stabilizes the Defensive Line
Jared Goldwire was one of the nation’s top defensive line prospects.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 9, 2018
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When the University of Louisville football program hit the recruiting trail last year, there was a glaring need for defensive linemen.
Gone were defensive ends James Hearns and Trevon Young and defensive tackles Drew Bailey and De’Asian Richardson. The returning players lacked major playing experience.
Cards In The Pros: Beginning of August Update
I have been on vacation for the last week and a lot has happened since the last update at the end of July. Adam Duvall was traded to the Braves, Kyle Funkhouser had surgery that has ended his season, Will Smith was promoted to AAA, Corey Ray continues to have an incredible season, and Adam Engel has made home run robbing catches in back to back nights against the Yankees.
2018 Louisville Football Preview: Special Teams
Last season, we saw the consistency of Blanton Creque and Mason King in their unheralded, but all important roles. While the return game was managed by the likes of Reggie Bonnafon and Seth Dawkins, we missed out on the excitement of Jaire Alexander due to his injury suffered in the first game. The first two names mentioned are back in their roles and look to build on already successful careers. The return game will be an interesting decision when the depth chart is released.
Redshirt-Junior Blanton Creque is as good a kicker that the Louisville football program has seen. His accuracy and dependability is up there with former Lou Groza winner, Art Carmody. For his career, Creque is 97-99 on extra points and 33-39 on field goals good for 84.6%. When Creque takes the field, the Louisville fans should feel confident that he’s going to throw points on the board.
Nunnsense: 2018 Louisville Football Game By Game Predictions
I have been doing theses predictions for several years and this if by far the hardest one that I have done. There are so many questions that I need answered before I can be give you a true and accurate prediction.
Here is what I know… Louisville is going to lose to both Alabama and Clemson and they are going to beat Indiana State and WKU.
(Nunns opinion, not CSZ’s)
Other than that, all 8 remaining games are winnable. Those remaining 8 games are all possible losses too. Do I really think Louisville will lose all 8 of those games? Of course not, but I do believe all of those games could be decided by 10 points or less.
I also know that the wise-guys in Las Vegas do not believe that Louisville is going to have a great year. They set the projected win total at 6.5 games. Most major publications predict Louisville to win 7 games. A few predict 8 games. Personally, I could see as many as 10 wins and as few as 6.
Traditionally the Vegas guys are very accurate. However, this year I believe they are factoring in the loss of Lamar Jackson a bit to heavy into their formula. I believe Louisville will have a top 5-10 offense. The question I have is on defense. Mainly the defensive line. I worry about teams with strong running games. My fear is that a team can control the clock with a slow methodical running game and keep the high powered Louisville offense off the field. I also believe the defense will be better than last year.
So, by my calculations, Louisville won’t lose much, if anything, on offense and should be better on defense. If I am correct, then Louisville should win 9 games. Yes, my prediction is 9 wins. But 8 would not shock me in the least.
Here are my game by game predictions, Read the rest of this entry
Quentin Snider To Play Professionally In Portugal
Quentin Snider will continue his basketball playing career overseas in Portugal. He signed a pro contract with SL Benfica of the Portuguese league per his father Scott Snider. You can read the details from Scott Snider’s Facebook post below.
This is excellent news for Q as he gets to continue playing the game he loves, get paid to do so, and do it at a high level.
We at Cardinal Sports Zone wish Q all the luck in the world and hope our hometown player makes waves in Portugal.
Coach Bobby Petrino Pleased With UofL Football Team After First Day Of Practice In Full Pads
UofL held its first practice of fall camp in full pads today. Coach Bobby Petrino came away feeling good at where his team stands early on in camp and talked about it after practice.
Petrino mentioned that he looked forward to watching film of a live tackling drill. He talks about the progression of the passing game and about the four team captains that have been chosen by the team. Petrino speaks of Cole Bentley and his progress as well.
Lukayas McNeil speaks about being a leader and what it takes to be in that role as he is now a captain.
2018 Louisville Football Preview: Secondary
Photo Courtesy of 247sports.com
Last Season: Louisville’s pass defense went from 14th in 2016 to 66th overall last season, allowing approximately 225 yards per game. The average was the worst ranking for the Cardinals since 2011, and the third lowest in their last ten seasons.
The Cardinals struggled a lot in the first half of 2017 due to a combination of injuries (mainly with star cornerback Jaire Alexander) and a lackluster scheme from former defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon. While Alexander was sidelined, the Cardinals allowed 290+ passing yards in four of their first six games, as well as 461 yards and five touchdowns to Wake Forest. They rebounded in their final four games with solid performances, allowing 147.25 yards per game and a 1:6 TD-INT ratio in that stretch.
UofL Football Reveals New Uniforms For Upcoming Season
Photo Courtesy of UofL Football’s Twitter Account (@UofLFootball)
UofL Football and Adidas have unveiled the uniforms UofL will wear for the upcoming season. They are the Adidas Primeknit uniforms and they are nice.
PJ Mbanasor Is Ready To Play College Football Again
Photo Courtesy of 247sports.com
It’s been a long, long time since PJ Mbanasor has played in an actual college football game. In fact, the last time he played was in 2015 for Oklahoma. He then redshirted a year before transferring to UofL and, due to transfer rules, sat out a year.
Now, Mbanasor is eyeing one of the starting CB spots for UofL and is itching to get back out on the field and play college football again.
Check out this story by gocards.com about Mbanasor being ready to seize his opportunity to play below.
Bobby Petrino Announces Four Team Captains For 2018
Bobby Petrino tweeted out the names of four players chosen to be 2018 team captains by the team. They are Redshirt Senior OL Lukayas McNeil, Redshirt Sophomore QB Jawon Pass, Senior S Dee Smith, and Redshirt Junior LB Jon Greenard.
McNeil is arguably the leader of the offensive line, Smith is arguably the leader of the secondary, Greenard is arguably the leader of the front seven, and of course Pass is the leader of the offense despite having played sparingly last year.
Photo Gallery: Jawon Pass ’17-’18
Jawon Pass will be entering his red-shirt sophomore year at the University of Louisville as the expected starting quarterback. He has the dubious task of following arguably the greatest quarterback to ever wear a Cardinal uniform. Jawon had limited time, appearing in only 5 games last season, but he completed 69.7% of his passes (23-33) for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran 13 times for 62 yards (4.8 avg) and a touchdown. He is the future and here are a few pics that we captured of him during the 2017 season.
Jamon Brown Foundation Leads Others In Donating Funds To West Louisville 13U Baseball Team
Photo Courtesy of Danny Mosby’s Facebook Account
The 13U West Louisville baseball team won the state tournament recently and will be going to the Babe Ruth Little League World Series to compete. However, they have been looking for donors to help with the expenses of the trip.
The Jamon Brown Foundation, along with other local businesses and citizens, are stepping forward and donating funds to help these wonderful young men live their dream and try to win the championship and bring it home to Louisville.
Jaylen Smith Requires Emergency Appendectomy
First and foremost – we here at Cardinal Sports Zone, wish Jaylen a speedy and successful recovery.
It was reported early Friday morning that Jaylen had undergone surgery to remove his appendix. According to WDRB, head trainer Matt Summers says he is expected to make a full recovery. At this time, there is no time table for his return.
UofL Football To Host A Season Preview Day On August 11th
Press release from the University of Louisville athletic department:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville football will give fans their first glance of the team at the Louisville Football Season Preview at 7 p.m. on Aug. 11 in Cardinal Stadium.
Fans activities on the field are scheduled from 6-7 p.m. before the team begins its open workout.
The skills showcase, which lasts until 8:15 p.m., will feature a position-by-position look at the Cardinals, who open the season in the Camping World Kickoff in Orlando against preseason No. 1 and defending national champion Alabama on Sept. 1 at 8 p.m.
Following practice, head coach Bobby Petrino and the Cardinals will be available to sign autographs on the field for approximately 45 minutes. Schedule posters will be distributed at the entrances.
Gates to the preview will open at 6 p.m., and fans should enter the stadium through gates 4-8.
Bobby Petrino, Dee Smith And Juwan Pass Talk About Start Of Fall Camp (Video)
Bobby Petrino sat down with the media earlier this week to discuss the start of the 2018 fall camp. He also addresses taking on Alabama in a few weeks, how well conditioned this year’s team is. You can also hear from Dee Smith and Juwan Pass on what they are feeling heading into the season.
