I got to attend the happy hour event in person tonight, and chit chatted with a handful of people around the program before and after the Q&A...
A few things that I thought I'd pass along:
-- Ben Sowders came up first in nearly every conversation I had. Nothing short of rave reviews about the new strength and conditioning coach.
-- I did get a chance to speak with Sowders directly, and he said that the offensive line has added 8 pounds across the board. He said the defensive line has added 5-6 pounds across the board. That's in just a little over a month of workouts. He said that if they continue on that trajectory, they will be where he wants them.
-- A few specific players were mentioned who are standing out in workouts: Yasir Abdullah, YaYa Diaby, Tyler Hudson, Bryan Hudson, and Dee Wiggins.
-- I had reported on here a little while back that Louisville is going to incorporate a 4-3 defense this year. Bryan Brown all but confirmed that when he had the mic, saying he doesn't want to tell everybody to keep it a surprise for Syracuse.
-- I do know Louisville has reached out to Mark Speir, a long-time head coach and current assistant at App State about joining the staff as an analyst, but I don't think anything is finalized yet.
-- Louisville will announce another recruiting department hire next week.
***One final thing, some serious progress is being made on the naming rights deal for the stadium.
The vibes in the complex were really good. Everyone in there knows ultimately that they need to win games.
That's all I have. @EKYCHOW can add some things as he was there with me.
A few things that I thought I'd pass along:
-- Ben Sowders came up first in nearly every conversation I had. Nothing short of rave reviews about the new strength and conditioning coach.
-- I did get a chance to speak with Sowders directly, and he said that the offensive line has added 8 pounds across the board. He said the defensive line has added 5-6 pounds across the board. That's in just a little over a month of workouts. He said that if they continue on that trajectory, they will be where he wants them.
-- A few specific players were mentioned who are standing out in workouts: Yasir Abdullah, YaYa Diaby, Tyler Hudson, Bryan Hudson, and Dee Wiggins.
-- I had reported on here a little while back that Louisville is going to incorporate a 4-3 defense this year. Bryan Brown all but confirmed that when he had the mic, saying he doesn't want to tell everybody to keep it a surprise for Syracuse.
-- I do know Louisville has reached out to Mark Speir, a long-time head coach and current assistant at App State about joining the staff as an analyst, but I don't think anything is finalized yet.
-- Louisville will announce another recruiting department hire next week.
***One final thing, some serious progress is being made on the naming rights deal for the stadium.
The vibes in the complex were really good. Everyone in there knows ultimately that they need to win games.
That's all I have. @EKYCHOW can add some things as he was there with me.
