Louisville 2007 Preview

For the University of Louisville football team it was a nearly perfect season with a perfectly implausible ending. The Cardinals won their first Big East Conference title. They were one bad half from an unbeaten record and a possible trip to the BCS title game. They rolled into the Orange Bowl and defeated Wake Forest to put an exclamation mark on the first 12–1 season in school history.

Five days later, the Cardinal players learned how quickly the 2006 season no longer mattered. Their head coach, Bobby Petrino, jumped to the Atlanta Falcons. Days later Steve Kragthorpe was recruited from Tulsa to take over the Cardinal program.

“We went to the football complex on a Sunday night to talk about setting goals for next season,” quarterback Brian Brohm says. “We found out we were losing our coach. Now it’s up to us to keep building the momentum this program has built the last decade.”

Momentum-building players remain, starting with Brohm, six other offensive starters, powerful defensive end Peanut Whitehead and three other defensive starters.

“(Kragthorpe) doesn’t have the name yet, but he’s going to be one of the best in the business,” U of L basketball coach Rick Pitino says.

Quarterbacks
Last January the word was that Brohm was going to be a first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. One web site projected him as the first overall selection. Not so fast. Brohm, a hometown kid who turned down opportunities to play at Notre Dame, Tennessee and other schools to play for the Cardinals, was not ready for his college career to end. “College is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Brohm says. “I want to enjoy all of it.” Look for Brohm to play like a guy whose season could end with an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony. He certainly intends to play his way to the top of the draft and give Louisville fans a farewell season to remember. Last year Brohm started the season recovering from knee surgery. He tore ligaments in his right thumb in the third game. He suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder on the third play of the Orange Bowl. His luck with injuries is due to change. If it doesn’t, Louisville has a talented backup in redshirt junior Hunter Cantwell. Freshman Matt Simms, son of former Giants star Phil Simms, arrives as a top recruit.

Running Backs
The Cardinals lose nearly 1,000 yards in rushing from last season’s team, but the number is misleading. Halfback Michael Bush was injured early in the second half of the season opener against Kentucky. Kolby Smith, gone after running for 862 yards, was only one of four players in the Cardinals’ running back by committee approach. Kragthorpe has multiple options. Sophomore Anthony Allen is the best all-around back. A rugged student of martial arts, Allen can pound between the tackles or dance outside the pile. He’s a touchdown machine, scoring 13 times on 96 carries. The speed guy is the smaller George Stripling, who does his best work around the ends. He won’t break many tackles, but he averaged close to six yards per carry. Powerful Brock Bolen has been mislabeled a blocker. Remember: Bolen averaged 6.2 yards per carry and delivered a 42-yard run.

Receivers
Brohm believes the Cards have the best receivers in the country. There is a tall, swift, deep threat in Mario Urrutia; a smaller, dependable possession guy in Harry Douglas; and a tight end named Gary Barnidge with Velcro hands. Urrutia considered a jump to the NFL, but he loves the idea of playing pitch and catch with Brohm. At 6'6" and 228 pounds, he has inspired comparisons to Randy Moss by overpowering cornerbacks near the goal line. Douglas simply makes plays. He is Brohm’s security blanket, a guy who caught 70 balls and averaged better than 18 yards per catch. He’ll work fearlessly over the middle. Tight ends Barnidge and Scott Kuhn are talented blockers who Brohm often looks for on third down. Keep an eye on JaJuan Spillman. He made his name returning kicks, but he’s got game-breaking moves.

2007 Schedule
A. 30	Murray State	W
S. 6	Middle Tennessee	W
S. 15	at Kentucky	W
S. 22	Syracuse	W
S. 29	at NC State	W
O. 5	Utah	W
O. 13	at Cincinnati	W
O. 20	at Connecticut	W
O. 27	Pittsburgh	W
N. 8	at West Virginia	*
N. 17	at South Florida	W
N. 29	Rutgers	*
Games in bold represent swing games. W or L indicates a projected win or loss.

Offensive Linemen
This is the primary area Kragthorpe must repair, with two starters departing. He starts with center Eric Wood, one of the best centers in the nation. Wood is a maniacal student of film who has an extremely close bond with Brohm. He’s equally good at run- or pass-blocking and has started 25 consecutive games. George Bussey, who plays tackle, celebrated his first season as a starter by being voted first-team All-Big East. He is a punishing run blocker with great footwork. Daniel Barlowe started 11 games at left guard last season. Converted tight end Breno Giacomini figures to get first call at right tackle, but he’ll be pushed by redshirt freshman Jeff Adams. Marcel Benson, a senior, must outplay three underclassmen to hold the other starting guard spot.

Defensive Linemen 
Most people will say the best player Louisville lost from its 2006 team was defensive lineman Amobi Okoye, a dazzling run stopper. Now the job of stopping the opposing power game will fall to Adrian Grady and Earl Heyman. Each started multiple games last season. Heyman made 22 tackles with a fumble recovery while Grady overcame a series of injuries to make 16 stops. If either fails, L.T. Walker and L.D. Scott should move into the lineup. Whitehead, a sophomore defensive end, has an opportunity to become the Cardinals’ next defensive star. He played in all 13 games as a true freshman, contributing four sacks as well as five tackles behind the line. He runs like a linebacker and hits you as if he believes you’re taking food from his refrigerator.

Linebackers
Two starters must be replaced here. Senior Malik Jackson is a disruptive force who played a terrific Orange Bowl. Jackson led the team with 16 tackles behind the line and nine sacks. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown against West Virginia. The most experienced candidate for the other two spots is junior Lamar Myles. Although he is undersized, Myles hunts contact. Preston Smith, a senior, is the frontrunner for the other outside linebacker. He made 44 tackles as a part-time starter. The wildcard is junior college recruit Willie Williams. Considered one of the best prospects in the nation in high school, Williams had a troubled career at the University of Miami and left after playing one season. He surfaced at a junior college near Los Angeles last year and signed as a member of Kragthorpe’s first recruiting class. If he is healthy, and trouble-free, Williams should have an impact.

Defensive Backs
Kragthorpe is known as an offensive coach, but he’ll have to find solutions here because three starters are missing. Latarrius Thomas is a converted receiver who started nine games at safety last season. He can fill the gaps to stop the run and float back to knock down the deep pass. Jon Russell gets first call at the other safety but must improve on defending the pass. Brandon Heath is ready to play if Russell stumbles. The Cardinals have been waiting for Rod Council to become a star at cornerback. He wasn’t healthy last season after breaking his ankle. But he has the ability to become a lockdown cover guy. Woodny Turenne, a top junior college signee, will battle Bobby Buchanan, the brother of former all-pro Ray Buchanan, for the start at the other corner. Lamar Alston expects to receive considerable playing time, as well.

Specialists
The special teams were special last season — and they figure to stay that way. Placekicker Art Carmody’s reward for making all 60 extra points and 21-of-25 field goals was the Lou Groza Award. Corey Goettsche and Todd Flannery will continue to split the punting job. Spillman emerged as a legitimate return threat, averaging nearly 27 yards per kickoff and rolling 100 yards against Rutgers for a touchdown.

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