2007 Statistics

New season, new coordinator, new starting quarterback…but there won’t be as much “redefining” as there will be “re-manning”. OC Jeff Brohm was the passing game coordinator (and QBs coach) last year and has been a catalyst going back now five seasons here, so his promotion is well expected. Same goes for Hunter Cantwell. The Paducah product also gets the “it’s about time” tag after going 3-1 as a starter since 2006. Big and sturdy in the pocket (rarely runs it), Cantwell means the passing game won’t skip a beat due to who is under center. Baton Rouge native Wolfe is the perfect understudy who will take over next year since Cantwell is one-and-done as the starter. That all being said, the Cardinal aerial assault could become the second option after years of the pass-first mentality seen here. Enter Brock Bolen, a rough-and-ready all-purpose back looking for someone to hit, with or without the ball. Bolen works out of a one-back set, but that won’t be the case too often if soph Bilal Powell keeps up his 7.8 yards per carry pace. The lead blocking of Bolen is a huge reason for Powell’s numbers. Anderson will fool many would-be tacklers with his tough, between-the-tackles style. Finding new targets becomes priority one for getting the passing game back up to UL’s premium standard. Scott Long is the incumbent, a third-receiver used underneath but whom now likely becomes a deep target due to his size. See, Brohm likes those size mismatches since he exploited DBs with recent departees Urrutia and Carter so often over the recent past. That’s why Josh Chichester only has to prove he can take the physical nature of collegiate football at this level for the 6’8 phenom to find himself filling the same field stretching role. Last year’s in-state Gatorade Player of the Year was new starter Doug Beaumont. Beaumont unfortunately has to fill in for Trent Guy, who was gunned down outside of a parking garage and is expected to miss much of the year (fortunately, he is expected to make a full recovery, just not in time to be a major impact player in 2008). Other dismissals and transfers have the Card’s corps a bit thin for optimizing multiple-receiver formations, another reason the running game gets more of a look. TE Pete Nochta is the receiving type, while ex-LB Burns will find playing time when the running game is featured. The line is a work-in-progress with newbies galore. Kuyateh and Roche have a bit of experience as oft-used backups (each started, Kuyateh once and Roche held down the RG slot for the last four games). His battle with the athletic Wetterer benefits all. The solidity provided by perennial All-American Eric Wood at center will allow the entire unit to gel under his command(s). Wood has 37 consecutive starts, while Bussey’s 25 make him another bankable commodity. Coach Kragthorpe will do what Urban Meyer did in his second year at the BCS level – tone down the lateral nature of creative play development and attack in a north-south manner until he forces foes to crowd the box to stop this. Allowing Cantwell to ease into becoming another great Louisville hurler won’t hurt.

Hiring Ron English away from Michigan will go a long way toward shoring up the hemorrhaging secondary. The 2006 National Defensive Coordinator of the Year (FBS) spent his first three seasons there with the DBs, and since UL gets three starters back from its 115th-ranked pass (efficiency) defense, English won’t accept inexperience as an excuse. Turenne is a speedster (clocked at 4.26 in the 40) who has yet to make his quickness translate into a bolstered stat line. Folmar and Tyler haven’t shown enough; neither earning the start over ex-WR Johnny Patrick speaks marginally of the depth, but boasts why Patrick should mean coverage improves. Similarly, the returning safeties weren’t very impressive in their showings. Buchanan and Raglin both seemed pulled beyond their means, stretched too thin, if you will. A year wiser and under the tutelage of English, the deep middle has to be shorn up if UL is to consider finishing over .500. If the safeties have to help the new-look LB corps, they won’t reach their potential(s). Miami-transfer James Bryant is as physical as he is athletic, the perfect combination for his middle designation. Sitting out a year has Bryant hungry. Recruited for his receiver skill set, Garr will be great in coverage (4.5 speed). Chris Camps bring great JUCO accolades, leading Butler C.C.C. to the national title with a team leading 68 solo stops. The LB two-deep is a nice mix of size and speed. This can be a formidable group once the kinks come out. How Earl Heyman didn’t get the All-Big East nod seems like a whiff - three fumble recoveries and two forced mishandlings compliment the team’s sixth-most tackles (40). Mitchell behind him brings the team’s top TFL total. Scott can play anywhere along the line, providing the kind of pressure in his lane so he keeps the ball in front of him. Senior Grady and soph Walker are true lane cloggers themselves, and look for Walker to break out after learning the ropes last year. Depth behind them is smaller but quicker, enabling stunting galore. Why were so many games in 2007 comeback efforts? Well, 131 aggregate points were allowed in first quarters last year…capping the scoring in the first 15 minutes will go a long way toward bringing in more wins. More INTs (than seven, the total from ’07) will come under English.