Manday Musings From Cardinal Country – 7/26 Edition

We are only days away from the start of college football, which is very exciting for us since both the Cards and Cats are featuring first time head coaches in Charlie Strong and Joker Phillips, both favorites of the Pinkie. I felt this was a good time to re-start the marginally popular Manday Musings series. For those who don’t remember, the Manday Musings were a regular Manday (Monday, for those of you who do not read the works of Cliff) recap of the events from the past weekend.

This time around, I will not be recapping both Louisville and Kentucky. With the addition of Corey to bolster our UK coverage, thoughts and notes from the blue clad faithful is in very good hands. Therefore, I will just be offering up some thoughts about the goings on from the Cardinal side of things. Let’s go.

I cannot remember the last time I was this excited for college football to start. From the moment Charlie Strong took over as Cards’ coach, there has been a complete shift in momentum with the Louisville program. It can be seen in the attitude of the fans, who no longer talk about the past accomplishments of Louisville football. Everyone I have spoken with about the Cardinal program now speaks in terms of what will happen in the future, and with quite an excited tone as well.

The Louisville football players have also experienced a total change in culture. Several players have talked about not having as much demanded of them by the previous staff, whereas now, things are being demanded from them they never thought possible. The best illustration of this might be a tweet from receiver Troy Pascley several months back. In short, Pascley noted he could not believe they (the players) thought they were working hard before.

The new attitude of the fans and players is obviously a direct reflection of Charlie Strong and his staff. This coaching staff is loaded with coaches who are used to winning and they are bringing that attitude to the program. A lot of people are predicting an extremely poor season for the Cards and with good reason, however, this staff will not lower their standards just because the roster is not ideal.

Keep in mind, the Cards went 4-8 last year, including four games (Utah, UConn, West Virginia, and South Florida) where Louisville was very much in the game and lost largely because of self-inflicted penalties. Whether it was lackadaisical turnovers, particularly in the red zone, stupid penalties, or bone-headed gaffes, the Cards showed an ability to play with many teams considered better than them. My point is, if only some of that is tightened up, and I suspect most of it will be under Charlie Strong, there’s no reason to think Louisville can’t surprise some people this year.

Speaking of football, we expect to hear soon who will be the Cards’ starting quarterback. It is a three man race between Adam Froman, Justin Burke, and Will Stein. Each one brings different things to the table, but at the end of the day, I think Froman gets the nod. He is the most mobile of the three, which fits the spread offensive system coordinator Mike Sanford intends to run, and he has a knack for making things happen. Froman is also noted for his leadership, which is something I consistently heard about him all last season. So I think mainly for those reasons, Strong will tab Froman to start the season.

However, I would not expect Froman to have a particularly long leash. Both Burke and Stein showed an ability to get things done during their time and if Froman struggles, it would not surprise me to see another guy get a shot. The potential x-factor in this is Dominique Brown, four-star incoming recruit from Ohio. Brown was thought to be a longshot to qualify as late as last week, but the winds have changed on that front. There is more optimism regarding Brown being eligible, but that does not mean it’s a sure thing.

If Dominique were to become eligible, he has the talent to play himself into the mix. Brown rushed for 1,998 yards and 32 touchdowns his senior year, as well as throwing for 723 yards and 7 TDs in a run happy offense. This is just informed speculation on my part, but if the current quarterbacks were to struggle in fall practice and Brown were to have a good fall, I would not rule out the coaches seriously considering giving him a look. Of course, if Dominique does not get himself eligible, this is all irrelevant and I just wasted time typing.

On the basketball front, the Cards’ recruiting has experienced a boost since the hiring of Tim Fuller, or ‘Big Time Tim’ as we call him. Since the hiring, Louisville has jumped right in the mix with top 2011 prospects Quincy Miller and Deuce Bello. The Cards now sit in great position with both of them. Perhaps the biggest news, in terms of basketball recruiting, is the Cards getting back in it with elite 2011 guard Tony Wroten.

Wroten is best friends with current Louisville point guard Peyton Siva and it appears that relationship, coupled with Big Time Tim’s hiring has enabled Rick Pitino to look at Wroten again. Now, just how hard UofL may be recruiting the five-star recruit depends on who you ask because the answers vary. However, it seems safe to say Wroten is back on the Cards’ radar.

That’s it for this week of the Musings. Thanks to everyone who reads the Pinkie and with Cards and Cats football just around the corner, it’s an exciting time in Pinkie country.