After a storied career as a coordinator for the National Champion Florida Gators, Charlie Strong was given his first head coaching opportunity two years back at Louisville. Now he enters that talked about third year with a lot of promise to return the program to the pre Steve Krathgrope levels and beyond.
Although he is only a SO, QB Teddy Bridgewater is already being talked about as the next great Louisville QB with designs on the NFL. He can run and pass, and he showed last year that he is a team leader too. He is efficient under center, and that combination of skills bodes well for both his, and Louisville's future. At RB this season, I expect somewhat of a RB by committee approach, despite Strong's preference for having a feature back. JRs Dominique Brown and Jeremy Wright both saw time last season, and neither emerged as that go to guy Strong wants. At receiver, Bridgewater has a young group, many of whom got experience last season as freshmen. SOs Michaelee Harris, Eli Rogers, and Devante Parker all will have the time to develop along with Bridgewater and although it may not be an uber-productive unit this season, the future is definately bright. The o-line is shaping up to be a nice combination of both experience and youth. The group will be led by SR C Mario Benavides, who is one of the very best Cs in the conference. He is coming off an injury, and if he comes back full stregnth, this unit should be much more productive that the one from a year ago.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals are also a fairly inexperienced bunch. The weakest part of this defense is the front four. The 2 JRs and 2 SOs may have nice futures in front of them, but at this time, I see no stand outs in this group. They are a heavier unit than in previous seasons, which should make them more sturdy at the point of attack, but only time will tell if this converts into more success. The linebackers have a nice leader in JR MLB Preston Brown. Last season, he emerged as an excellent tackler. If his game continues to develop, and he rounds out his skill set, he could be a draft prospect next year. The secondary is the real strength of this defense. SR CB Adrian Bushell is coming off an all-conference season a year ago. He has not yet reached his ceiling, and with more development could come even better production. In addition to Bushell, both safeties have the potential for breakout years. JR Hakeem Smith has the potential to be very good, and SO Clavin Pryor is still a little raw, but shows great promise. I think with these three guys all patrolling the secondary, it is going to make it difficult for opposing signal callers to throw against the Cardinals.
Charlie Strong is poised for a very nice third season. His Louisville Cardinals should be one of the better teams in the Big East, even in position to compete for the conference title. This is still a young team though, so there will be mistakes. One thing is certain though, Louisville has a lot to look forward to over then next few years.
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