With less than two weeks to go before Signing Day, we highlight 15 of the top unsigned prospects in the South this week. We look at who they are visiting this week and who we feel is trending as we close in on decision day.

link: WHO'S TRENDING?

Jordan showed maturity and growth tonight when he was obviously off behind the arc shooting 0-7. Even so he worked his ass off getting garbage points and getting to the free throw line. He still was 2nd in scoring with 13 and grabbed 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

** WBB: Louisville vs. FSU Game Thread **

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The show "Inside College Basketball" On CBS Sports Network is a solid recap show. I have run across it a couple of times. But Seth Davis, Wally Zerbiak (butchered that spelling), John Rothstein and whoever anchors the show, are very knowledgeable -- esp that Rothstein dude. Remember when ESPN used to do these kinds of shows??

I highly recommend finding it.

Some great props for the Cards tonight ... and Chris Mack. They didn't mention our win over Michigan State, who they also gave solid props tonight for their dominating win AT ranked Iowa. But I am loving that win more and more. Michigan State is dominating a pretty good Big Ten.

These guys also provided tremendous insight into CUSA (Western Kentucky has a good resume, but the entire conference is bunched together in the standings. It's a one bid league, so Western will need to win the tourney in March).

I need to figure out when this show airs -- is it every night? Hmmm ...

Theyd be ranked !

THATS the Cardinals that show what it means to wear Red and Black !!!

Great game blowing out Carolina AT UNC !

keep it up Cards !

This is a big time matchup. Two top 25 teams. This is a big time gut-check - how does the team respond after receiving its first ranking of the season...against another ranked opponent? How bad do they want the win? Can this team finally extend a winning streak past 3 games?

Let’s YOU Cards!!

I believe everyone thinks that quarterback is a key to this season I am not so sure about that sounds and acts like the offensive line is a real concern
I was reading on another site that they have 2 graduate transfer coming in just makes me wonder if the ones we have aren't up to speed to what coach wants

Cards now favored at -4.5.

Fully expecting this one to be a tough game for the Cards. NC State may be without one of their key players (Markell Johnson) tonight... Thinking that Keatts is going to apply pressure defense and get into the Cards probably more than any team has this year defensively.

How do the Cards handle the defensive pressure and trapping?

NC State is averaging 87 PPG and shooting 38% from the 3 line.

This would make my freakin' day. Some ESPN dudes breakdown options for Washington Redskins bringing in a QB given the uncertainty of Alex Smith's recovery (he is a long shot to play next year, and there's a decent chance he may never play again). Colt McCoy is uncuttable given his cap hit over the next two years (Over $20 mil a year) ... so the Skins will have Colt McCoy and ... who???

http://www.espn.com/blog/washington...market-wont-provide-many-options-for-redskins

Teddy Bridgewater: The New Orleans Saints' backup quarterback -- and former Minnesota Vikings starter -- could be the most intriguing. Redskins coach Jay Gruden knows Bridgewater's former coach well -- he and Mike Zimmer were coordinators together in Cincinnati. Also, Bridgewater's name was mentioned as a possibility last offseason, so it would make sense that the Redskins would at least consider him again in 2019. But if there’s real demand for him, it’s hard to see how the Redskins could snag him -- they simply can’t pay a lot, not with other needs and the possibility of drafting a quarterback instead.

It’s hard to know Bridgewater’s price tag, or to judge his abilities. He has played one game in three seasons -- the Saints' season finale last month -- since a horrific leg injury in 2016. But most important, Bridgewater looks healthy; he’s only 26 and looked good during camp with the Jets before he was traded to the Saints in August. Still, figuring out his next contract is tricky; there’s not a good comparison, Corry said. Halsell said he could see Bridgewater receiving a similar deal to the one he got from the Jets: one year, $6 million, with another $9 million possible through incentives. He’s not a surefire starter, but he’d compete for that job.


Jay Gruden made Andy Dalton relevant as an OC in Cincy. He benched RG III for Kirk Cousins, and showed what his influence could mean for Kirk over 3 years. He'd give Teddy a QB friendly offense to shine in. A former U of L quarterback coaching a former U of L quarterback. Sign me up.

Hokies QB Josh Jackson, RB Deshawn McClease say they're transferring

• • ACC reporter.
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
  • Graduate of the University of Florida.

Virginia Tech quarterback Josh Jackson and running back Deshawn McClease announced Wednesday that they will transfer, joining two teammates who also announced their intention to transfer earlier this week.

"After much thought, consideration and discussion with my family, we think it'd be best for me to pursue my academic and football career elsewhere," Jackson posted on Twitter.


McClease posted his tweet later Wednesday, writing, "After discussing with my family, we believe that it is best for me to transfer to another university following graduation this spring. I am very eager to continue my football journey and further my education."

Jackson and McClease are the latest Hokies players to leave the program. On Tuesday, receiver Eric Kumah and tight end Chris Cunningham said they would transfer.

After news of Jackson's potential transfer became public Wednesday afternoon, Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente issued a statement, saying in part that his coaching staff remains committed to developing a "winning culture."

"As a head coach I certainly understand when young men desire to explore their options by entering themselves in the NCAA's transfer portal. Immediate eligibility for graduate transfers has become another piece of the changing landscape for college football student-athletes and coaches across the country.

"I respect the fact that each individual's circumstances and situation are different. We will continue to support all our student-athletes and wish them best whether their future is at Virginia Tech or another institution. Our evaluation of all aspects of our football program is constant and ongoing. In my postseason one-on-one meetings with our student-athletes I asked for their input on what we can do better as a coaching staff and how I can better serve them as their head coach. I appreciate their feedback, as well as their willingness and desire to do whatever it takes to help us improve individually and collectively in 2019.

"With that said, I'm very excited about the character and the talent of the young men on our team and remain enthused about the potential of this football team for 2019 and beyond. We will continue working hard to get better, myself and our entire staff included. Our winter conditioning program began on Tuesday and I can't wait to get back on the field with our players and coaches this spring."

Jackson would be a graduate transfer and eligible to play right away. He was Virginia Tech's starting quarterback for all of 2017 and the first three games of 2018 before breaking his left leg and missing the rest of the season.

Ryan Willis played well in his absence, and Hendon Hooker and Quincy Patterson are expected to add to the competition at the position this spring.

Kumah finished second on the team in 2018 with 42 catches for 549 yards and seven touchdowns.

McClease rushed for 433 yards on 96 attempts with two touchdowns. He missed two games with an injury.

McClease sat out his first two seasons in Blacksburg, redshirting as a freshman and missing the 2016 season with a shoulder injury.

Virginia Tech (6-7, 4-4) had several other players leave the team during the season, including receiver Sean Savoy, linebacker Rico Kearney and offensive lineman D'Andre Plantin. Starting defensive end Trevon Hill was dismissed from the team last September.

Watching the news of the Old Cardinal Stadium being razed, I just thought I would look up the box score of the greatest game I have ever personally witnessed in any sport. Not sure this will ever get matched.

First downs: 63
Total Yards: 1,337
Total Points: 115
Pass Comp %: Brohm: 76% (552 yds), Bush: 71% (522 yds) on a total of 76 passes

This against a Trinity defense that had given up only 6.07 pts/game with 5 shutouts and a Male defense that was giving up 14.29 pts/game with 4 shutouts. These were good defenses that were in position to make plays and couldn't because Bush and Brohm were crushing it. To think Bush did this while playing both ways and rushing 24 times for 116 yards is unthinkable.

https://khsaa.org/football/2002/class4a.htm


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Asked about being in the Top 25, CoachChrisMack: "I don't worry about any of that stuff. Success is never final. Failure is never fatal ... I hope there isn't anybody on this team believes that we have arrived because we are going to take one of those fat Ls if that's the case."

I like where we are at right now. Teams think we should be an easy out based on early conference predictions, so we sneak up on them. Our guys have already experienced let down once to their demise against Pitt, but have since picked back up. Winning by double digits in each conference game.

I think this week we become ranked, fortunately and unfortunately. We aren’t going to be overlooked for long. Until the next time we fall out of the rankings.

He's certainly a peach!

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*sigh*

JP

must get better. We need quality minutes out of him. Today - low bball IQ, careless with the ball and played “ME” ball.

NM

It's the busy season around here and I'd imagine there are some questions floating around as well. Now is the time to send them on over and I'll do my best to get them answered!

with four-star RB Jamious Griffin.

New schools have entered the race and he has scheduled two official visits.

link: GRIFFIN UPDATE

UofL's balanced scoring and Wake's incredible ability to turn the ball over led to a solid 24-point win for the Cards in Winston-Salem yesterday. The Cards raced to a 19-9 first quarter lead, maintained that for the second and third quarters and put the final whammy on Wake with a 20-10 finale.

Balanced scoring for the Cards. Eight players had six points or more. 17-1 now, with a trip to the Sunshine State and FSU coming up Thursday. No walkover here, the 'Noles beat Duke yesterday and are 16-2, 4-1 in-conference this season.

For "Oops, I did it again" scenarios, accurate Arica, continued rebounding woes and 'you gotta take that shot when you're open' opinions...let's follow Kasa down the court and jump to the:

FIVE THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME

5) Not our bakery, not our product -- Wake committed 25 turnovers in the 40 minutes yesterday and quite a few of those were unforced or avoidable. A view of the campus classes and degree opportunities at Wake Forest mention nothing about baking, oven management skills or hot, fresh turnovers training -- but the Demon Deacons deliverers were producing them in every variety available yesterday. The Cards with just six. Why bake when someone else is willing to do it for you, right?

4) The A.C. seems to be working just fine -- Arica Carter coming out with a bit of net-torching early. Three consecutive "threes" in the first quarter, helping Louisville grab a 17-5 lead before most of the patrons had a chance to sit down after the National Anthem. Her thoughts? "Seems like I always play well in North Carolina." Sadly, she won't get another chance to suit up in the Tar Heel state until the ACC Tournament. She had 25 points when UofL traveled to Duke two weeks ago

3) The Gang That Couldn't Rebound -- It was a bad day at Backboard for the Cards, out-rebounded 45-25. 15 rebounds in the first half, 10 in the final half. And, it wasn't like the shooting percentages were extremely high, Louisville shot 43.3% and Wake Forest 40%. This lack of recovering missed shots is going to, mark my words, hurt the Cards sometime in the future. Maybe UofL WBB needs to fly Dennis Rodman or Moses Malone in for a seminar. Or Angel.

2) Kasa killing it. A busy 20 minutes for Ashland, KY freshman Mykasa Robinson. Three steals, seven points and two rebounds for the 5'7" dynamo. Her energy, toughness and grit is a wonderful spark off the bench. The Spanish phrase "Mi casa es su casa" comes to mind. She comes in and takes over the house, home or away, when she enters a game. On an afternoon where Asia Durr was held scoreless for 20 minutes and ended with just eight points, Kasa kicked it in and killed it.

1) You're open for a reason. In the continuing "let's throw the ball to Walz and see what he can do with it" saga, Coach got the open look late in the third quarter yesterday at Wake. This time, though, he passed on the shot-after-pass and a bemused bench and staff chided him a bit about the 'failure to launch'. for the third time in four scenarios. Maybe the miss vs. Virginia has him hesitant. Maybe he thought this ref crew might "T" him up. Or, maybe he doesn't have the "green light" anymore.

I didn't steal Paulie's clever "Cards rake Wake Forest" by-line over at Cardinal Couple to use over here today. Just whose turn is it to rake the forest, anyway? Gonna be rough with this recent snowfall.

-- Sonja --

Good morning for whatever day of the week you feel it is since the holiday threw things off. Just wanted to update you all on a few things going on in the world of Louisville football recruiting so here we go.

- Louisville offered Florida DT Jordan Jefferson yesterday. The 6'4" 300lbs lineman's recruitment is really starting to ramp up and he is now hearing from FAU, West Virginia, and Kansas St along with Louisville. Jefferson told me he is working on setting up an official visit to Louisville sometime next week/weekend.

- GT OL commit Joshua Black will take an official visit to Louisville this weekend: Login to view embedded media .

- Cort Dennison is scheduled to visit Kerick Reese, Allen Smith, and Cornelius Evans today. Evans, a fairly new Louisville offer, just recently committed to Georgia Tech but said he is still taking his official visit to Louisville this weekend. Louisville is actively working to see if they can flip Evans and we should know more after the in-home visit tonight.

- Bryan Brown visited Dequanteous Watts yesterday. Watts is coming off of a South Carolina official visit which is where most believe Watts will end up. Despite that visit, Watts told me that he is still visiting Louisville this weekend.

- ShaDon Brown is expected to visit Jamel Starks today. Starks is scheduled to take an official visit to Louisville this weekend and is one of several talented safety options available.

- Cortney Braswell is a new member of Louisville's coaching staff, joining the Cardinals as a defensive quality control assistant. What's interesting is that he also goes by Cort which means there are 2 Corts coaching on the defensive side of the ball for Louisville. Not something you see everyday and just an odd little bit I had to pass along.

Brewer is the receivers coach and got to town I believe late Friday night. He met with the receivers as a group last night and from what I’ve been told by a couple of players in the meeting he was extremely well received.

Big emphasis across positions is on gaining the players’ trust by making it clear why some guys play and others don’t. Apparently a very big issue in prior years has been guys feeling like practices and games just didn’t matter. That playing time was a matter of favoritism more than anything else. That won’t be the case any longer.

This has to the first decision by Satterfield that I have disagreed with. Especially now where we need to build momentum with the fan base and get interest back, and we decide to not hold a spring game? I get that some practices will be open but those are usually at times that don’t work for a majority of people. A Saturday or weeknight spring game would have at least got fans out to the stadium to see what this new staff is putting together. Pretty disappointed in this decision.