Just got back from the Louisville Football player showcase and thought it was overall a really good event that I would love to see Louisville expand upon in the coming years. While there isn't a whole lot to be had at an event like this (yes, even less than a spring game) here are the few notable items I came away with.
- One of the first drills that were done were with punters/punt returners. Louisville was rotating a lot of guys through fielding punts such as Dez Fitzpatrick, Keion Wakefield, Tutu Atwell, Marcus Riley, Jairus Brents, Marlon Character, and Josh Johnson.
- Speaking of Josh Johnson, it was good to see him out there even though he was in the yellow no-contact jersey. Despite not being too long after a serious knee injury, he appears to be moving quite well and was running and cutting at full speed. I can definitely see where he could be ready to go before too much longer. Here is a quick clip of Johnson from tonight:
- One guy in particular that really stood out to me in the secondary was PJ Mbanasor. He did give up a couple catches but he is big, physical and has great instincts. Of the catches he did give up, he definitely made the receivers earn them. From the looks of it, Mbanasor is going to be a big time fixture of the defense this year.
- Another young corner that seemed to always been in on plays was Anthony Johnson. He isn't necessarily the fastest guy out on the field, but Johnson is very long and was continuously getting his hands in front of receivers trying to catch the ball.
- Another guy who looks like he has made some good strides over the summer was Khane Pass. Similar to Johnson, Pass always seemed like he had his nose in the play, breaking up a pass.
- It was hard to differentiate the running backs as there was't one in particular that stood out above the others from what I saw. This isn't really a negative, I just think Louisville has several weapons at that position. Javian Hawkins was quite small but so shifty and Hassan Hall showed good wheels as well but seemed like he may need a few more pounds of muscle put on.
- I tried to watch both Jordan Travis and Malik Cunningham quite a bit in the drills tonight and I can say that I believe the competition for backup QB may be closer than I originally thought. Not because Cunningham struggled tonight at all, but Travis looked REALLY impressive out there and provided confirmation that his arm is indeed the strongest on the team. Despite the canon of an arm, the true freshman threw a very catchable ball and just overall had a good showing tonight. Here is a quick clip of Travis:
- I think the battle between Tutu Atwell and Marcus Riley at the slot receiver could be an interesting one to keep tabs on. At this point I'd put Tutu slightly in the lead because he seemed to be a little more consistent with catching the ball tonight. Regardless, both are so quick and will be fun to watch in the Petrino offense.
- There was a lot of back and forth between the offensive and defensive lines and frankly, I didn't get to see a ton of their drills. What I will tell you are two facts I came away with: #1. Mekhi Becton is still a large human being and #2. Cole Bentley is an absolute bulldozer. It was absurd how much of a brick wall Bentley was when I saw him in one on one drills tonight. I can definitely see why the coaches have been so excited about him starting at center. Tabarious Peterson had some good snaps and one in particular had his way with Kenny Thomas, although for the most part Thomas looked really good out there. Another battle that had some back and forth was Linwood Foy and Boosie Whitlow. When Foy was able to lay his hands firmly on Whitlow, Foy's strength really showed through but when Whitlow could get to the outside of Foy, Whitlow's quickness was on full display. A really fun battle between two talented players.
- One stadium expansion note:
That's all I can think of for now. Overall had a really good night out there and would love to see them continue this into next year.
- One of the first drills that were done were with punters/punt returners. Louisville was rotating a lot of guys through fielding punts such as Dez Fitzpatrick, Keion Wakefield, Tutu Atwell, Marcus Riley, Jairus Brents, Marlon Character, and Josh Johnson.
- Speaking of Josh Johnson, it was good to see him out there even though he was in the yellow no-contact jersey. Despite not being too long after a serious knee injury, he appears to be moving quite well and was running and cutting at full speed. I can definitely see where he could be ready to go before too much longer. Here is a quick clip of Johnson from tonight:
- One guy in particular that really stood out to me in the secondary was PJ Mbanasor. He did give up a couple catches but he is big, physical and has great instincts. Of the catches he did give up, he definitely made the receivers earn them. From the looks of it, Mbanasor is going to be a big time fixture of the defense this year.
- Another young corner that seemed to always been in on plays was Anthony Johnson. He isn't necessarily the fastest guy out on the field, but Johnson is very long and was continuously getting his hands in front of receivers trying to catch the ball.
- Another guy who looks like he has made some good strides over the summer was Khane Pass. Similar to Johnson, Pass always seemed like he had his nose in the play, breaking up a pass.
- It was hard to differentiate the running backs as there was't one in particular that stood out above the others from what I saw. This isn't really a negative, I just think Louisville has several weapons at that position. Javian Hawkins was quite small but so shifty and Hassan Hall showed good wheels as well but seemed like he may need a few more pounds of muscle put on.
- I tried to watch both Jordan Travis and Malik Cunningham quite a bit in the drills tonight and I can say that I believe the competition for backup QB may be closer than I originally thought. Not because Cunningham struggled tonight at all, but Travis looked REALLY impressive out there and provided confirmation that his arm is indeed the strongest on the team. Despite the canon of an arm, the true freshman threw a very catchable ball and just overall had a good showing tonight. Here is a quick clip of Travis:
- I think the battle between Tutu Atwell and Marcus Riley at the slot receiver could be an interesting one to keep tabs on. At this point I'd put Tutu slightly in the lead because he seemed to be a little more consistent with catching the ball tonight. Regardless, both are so quick and will be fun to watch in the Petrino offense.
- There was a lot of back and forth between the offensive and defensive lines and frankly, I didn't get to see a ton of their drills. What I will tell you are two facts I came away with: #1. Mekhi Becton is still a large human being and #2. Cole Bentley is an absolute bulldozer. It was absurd how much of a brick wall Bentley was when I saw him in one on one drills tonight. I can definitely see why the coaches have been so excited about him starting at center. Tabarious Peterson had some good snaps and one in particular had his way with Kenny Thomas, although for the most part Thomas looked really good out there. Another battle that had some back and forth was Linwood Foy and Boosie Whitlow. When Foy was able to lay his hands firmly on Whitlow, Foy's strength really showed through but when Whitlow could get to the outside of Foy, Whitlow's quickness was on full display. A really fun battle between two talented players.
- One stadium expansion note:
That's all I can think of for now. Overall had a really good night out there and would love to see them continue this into next year.
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