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Bozich on Satterfield Hire ....

My favorite part of this piece are these facts:

Satterfield’s credentials indicate his teams are coached to run the ball with authority. They score points, 38 or more in half of their 12 games. Because Satterfield once played quarterback, he is viewed by many as an offensive guy.

That’s a mistake. Appalachian State has ranked in the Top 25 in scoring defense the last four seasons as well as the Top 20 in total defense in three of the last four.



Link to article below, and copied and pasted too.

http://www.wdrb.com/story/39582240/...with-credentials-excitement-and-no-guarantees


LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Tom Jurich made five head coaching hires with the University of Louisville football program. Without question, he talked with more conviction about Steve Kragthorpe than the others.

Louisville fans turned on Kragthorpe about a game and a half into his rocky 36-game, 21-defeat, three-year stay.

Charlie Strong was considered the biggest reach among the Jurich hires.

No head coaching experience. Was passed over for job after job. Didn’t interview well. That was the beginning of the list.

Four seasons, 37 wins and a string of NFL Draft picks later, Strong was off to Texas after one of the most dynamic stretches in Cardinals’ history.

Now Scott Satterfield is bound for Louisville from Appalachian State. What does that have to do with Kragthorpe or Strong?

Just this: You never know.

Satterfield’s credentials suggest he has earned the opportunity to find out. He checks many boxes as a good hire. One reason Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra fired Bobby Petrino with two games remaining was to give himself time to evaluate and vet several candidates. Tyra has been high on Satterfield for several weeks.

But you never know.

The chatter around this hire is running both ways.

After swinging for the automatic home run of Jeff Brohm, Tyra landed his second pick in Satterfield. I’d expect a joke or two about that during Satterfield’s introductory press conference Tuesday afternoon. We've all been second choices a some points in our lives, right?

Reaction to the hire has run in every direction.

Some are convinced Satterfield is one of the game’s emerging stars, stardom the coach has suggested by winning 68 percent of his games while navigating the Appalachian State program from FCS to FBS status.

The man has averaged 10 wins over his last four seasons with a winning percentage of 87.5 percent in Sun Belt Conference games. I don’t care if you’re coaching in Tuscaloosa, South Bend or Paoli, if you’re winning nearly 88 percent of your league games you’re dominating your primary competition.

“I think it’s a great hire,” said one former college football assistant coach with experience in the SEC, Big Ten and other conferences.

“I know Scott. I’ve been around him and watched him work. He’s got a system he believes in and he’ll recruit to it. He’s very good at identifying players who fit his system and developing them. He’s exactly what Louisville needs right now.”

Others are less certain. Winning in the Sun Belt Conference is a wonderful achievement. But it’s not the same as going cleat to cleat with Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Kentucky.

The recruiting demands are different. Talent identification is more precise. The media and alumni responsibilities are greater. The spotlight is hotter.

This is a guy who has worked all but three of his 21 seasons as a coach in Boone, N.C., (pop. 18,834), working at Appalachian State, where he also played quarterback. He left twice and returned to his alma mater. At 45, he’s leaving his comfort zone

He’s got work to do, building back the program’s talent base, scrubbing the locker room culture of whatever affected the place this season and connecting with high school coaches around the state and region. Job One also includes energizing a significant chunk of the fan base that was deflated after Brohm decided to stay at Purdue instead of coming home.

I’ll say it again: You never know.

A decade ago the hiring of Dabo Swinney by Clemson was ripped by many who suspected he was merely a recruiter who lacked an experience coordinating an offense. Even after Swinney starting rolling, he was questioned for “Clemsoning,” or losing games his team appeared to be in position to win.

You’d have to throw at least $10 million per season for a large number of seasons to get Swinney out of Clemson today.

Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke looked like putts in the leather at Michigan They flopped. Steve Spurrier was great at Duke, greater at Florida and a disappointment at South Carolina. Not everybody was sold on James Franklin at Vanderbilt or Dan Mullen at Mississippi State. They delivered.

I could go on.

Satterfield’s credentials indicate his teams are coached to run the ball with authority. They score points, 38 or more in half of their 12 games. Because Satterfield once played quarterback, he is viewed by many as an offensive guy.

That’s a mistake. Appalachian State has ranked in the Top 25 in scoring defense the last four seasons as well as the Top 20 in total defense in three of the last four.

Those are some of the credentials that convinced Tyra that Satterfield was the guy who could lead Louisville out of the mess left by Bobby Petrino.

Will he succeed the way Strong and John L. Smith succeeded or struggle the way Kragthorpe or Ron Cooper struggled?

You never know.

But his credentials suggest Scott Satterfield has earned the chance to find out — and for Louisville fans to get excited again.

FB RECRUITING: Potential replacement for Jaden Johnson

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Scouting report:
Jordan Yates is a dynamic playmaking quarterback from Milton High in Alpharetta, Georgia. He has lead his team to the state title in Georgia's highest classification. He has a little Lamar in him as you can seem him looping out of the pocket and out racing defenders to the end zone as well as hurdling them to score. Yates is a great student and he scored a 28 on his ACT.

Why he makes sense for Louisville:
He is currently committed to Georgia Tech, a team that still hasn't hired a new head coach. The rival's Georgia Tech site seems to think that Whisenhunt won't be the hire there and they may not have a new head coach until Monday. I was informed by Woody Womack from rivals.com that Scott Satterfield has a high level of interest in Yates and tried to get him on App State's campus, to no avail. Yates could lend a more attentive ear to Satterfield's pitch this time around considering Louisville has more juice than Appalachian State. Sources have told me Yates won't sign until February so there is still time to make a real push for him.

The competition:
I have it on good authority that Cincinnati has conducted an in-home visit with Yates today. He is still committed to Georgia Tech so obviously they are a threat. The GT site is saying that Geoff Collins from Temple is being considered for the spot over Whisenhunt. Yates is a good fit for what Collins does on offense but not at all under Whisenhunt who will most likely insert a pro-style offense.

Take away:
Louisville will have to pursue a quarterback in this class and Yates is a fine candidate. He doesn't have a Louisville offer yet but considering Satterfield's earlier pursuit, I wouldn't be surprised to see the 'Cards make a significant push.

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Last time Bobby left

Even though hindsight proved that Krapthorpe was the wrong hire and probably never would have been successful at U of L, I recall he inherited a very toxic player culture (which was mostly unknown to people outside the program) and he cleaned house and a number of players were forced to leave the program. That put him even further behind the eight ball for being able to continue the on field success of his predecessor.

This time around we all know there is a toxic locker room and this is a rebuilding project. Hopefully as a fan base we will support this new staff and give them the benefit of the doubt. Another 2-10 season could be likely, but I am optimistic we will be closer to .500 next season just by injecting discipline into the team and actually coaching up kids which was lacking with BP 2.0,

Talk about a 180 (Presser Takeaways)

Holy cow this guy is the complete opposite of Bobby Petrino.

Few takeaways as I watch/watched this presser:
  • Right off the bat, CSS and President Bendapudi clicked
  • Vince really emphasized key game analytics/metrics then followed it up with his character and fit at UofL
    • i.e. run to pass ratio; defensive efficiency, etc. -- I'm really glad to hear about how he determined the candidates
  • CSS' excitement is obvious and authentic
  • He reminds me a lot of Dabo Swinney (not just because of the accent)
  • CSS' focus on playing for the "other 10" and family culture is something we really need and will resonate well
    • He mentioned that he wants the staff and players to naturally want to be at the football complex working... it can't feel forced
  • Vince just went through a dozen players by name and talked about their skill sets and how good of a roster we actually have. This is a level of detail beyond any AD I've seen.
  • Vince said this hire feels as good or better than the other hires he's made. That is a STRONG statement

QB is the not immediate need...

FAR too many here are way too concerned about the QB spot. That is not UL's immediate need. We have VERY little depth on the DL, and at LB. The past two seasons, UL loaded up on the offensive side of the ball, and really neglected a lot on the D side, IMHO.

While you always need a QB in every class, just for depth concerns, it is NOT the major or even 5th important need.

We need much better DLine play, and even more depth on the OLine.
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Team meeting at 3pm with Coach Satterfield w/ feedback

The team is scheduled to meet with new Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield today at 3pm and I'm very interested to hear what the players are told, what they think of their new coach, and just the overall reaction. I'll post any feedback I hear from how the meeting goes.

3:30PM Update: I just got a message from someone in the room of Scott Satterfield's first meeting with the team that said "He's awesome. He's everything I expected and more."

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Was told by someone else that Satterfield "is the guy for the job" after the players meeting concluded.

Also, another individual said that Satterfield told the team he was going to lead them with love and make sure they enjoy their time at the facilities but he is also going to make sure that the players are taking care of business off the field because that leads to taking care of business on the field.

3:50PM Update: Heard that the team gave Coach Satterfield a big round of applause when he came in the room but after he was done talking "the applause was even louder".

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Chip on our shoulders

Howie mentioned it this morning, and my observations for the past several years correlate with it. Louisville since Howard was here, has always played with a huge chip on its shoulders. Howie states it well. Many dream of getting a scholarship to college. A smaller group aspires to start in college, but a few aspirations to get to the NFL. Over the years, we have had Dumervil, Maudlin, McCune, Howard Stevens, Barnridge, Asher, and more that not many believed would be good in college, much less as pros. As a university, we stopped proving ourselves to others because we had made the big time, and had awesome facilities, and playing on Saturdays. Our goals were too small and out of date. The new coach has aspirations that excite me. The new staff and new players will have these same hungry goals.

Chip on our shoulders

Howie mentioned it this morning, and my observations for the past several years correlate with it. Louisville since Howard was here, has always played with a huge chip on its shoulders. Howie states it well. Many dream of getting a scholarship to college. A smaller group aspires to start in college, but a few aspirations to get to the NFL. Over the years, we have had Dumervil, Maudlin, McCune, Howard Stevens, Barnridge, Asher, and more that not many believed would be good in college, much less as pros. As a university, we stopped proving ourselves to others because we had made the big time, and had awesome facilities, and playing on Saturdays. Our goals were too small and out of date. The new coach has aspirations that excite me. The new staff and new players will have these same hungry goals.

FB RECRUITING: Louisville commits react to Satterfield hire

With the news is still fresh that Scott Satterfield will be Louisville's next coach, even without ever talking to him, Louisville's commits have started reacting to the hire of Appalachian State's head coach. Here is some of their responses and the status of their commitments.

Anthony Adkins - "I heard he was a good guy and his numbers show he is a winner so that's good." Adkins stated that he is 100% committed to Louisville.

Jack Randolph - "I like it. The guy can win and he seems like a great guy." Randolph also stated he was excited about the direction of the program and is 100% committed.

Aidan Robbins - "I have read and heard positive things about him. I can’t wait to meet him formally."

Jaden Johnson - "He is a great winning coach and he is a players coach."
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