Louisville tries to move on from ‘07 disaster

By Darrell Laurant  |   Wednesday, January 23, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Louisville Cardinals
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Third in a series on Big East football teams and the 2007 season.

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE CARDINALS

RECORD: 6-6 (3-5 Big East).

HIGH POINTS: A 28-24 victory over Cincinnati, a 41-39 upset of Rutgers.

LOW POINTS: A shocking 38-35 loss to Big East bottom-feeder Syracuse, at home; a 55-17 rout at the hands of South Florida.

MAJOR LOSSES: QB Brian Brohm; RB Anthony Allen; WRs Harry Douglas, Mario Urrutia and Patrick Carter; TE Gary Barnidge; OG Danny Barlowe, PK Art Carmody, LB Lamar Myles.

KEY RETURNEES: QB Hunter Cantwell, RBs George Stripling and Brock Bolen; WR Scott Long; C Eric Wood; OT George Bussey; DBs Rod Council and Chris Vaughan.

OUTLOOK:

First-year UL coach Steve Kragthorpe has actually been mentioned for some recent coaching openings -- and after his team's collapse in 2007, it must have been tempting.

To his credit, however, Kragthorpe not only stayed, but took immediate corrective measures to shore up a defense that was abysmal (31 points per game allowed) in 2007. Rod English, the University of Michigan defensive coordinator, left in the wake of Lloyd Carr's retirement and accepted the same job at Louisville -- a definite upgrade.

The school also hired former Duke head coach Ted Roof to instruct the linebackers, Kenn Delgado (from Cal) to coach the defensive line and strength coach Joe Kenn (from Arizona State).

Hit hard by graduation losses and NFL defections, Kragthorpe and his revamped staff also signed eight junior college players to provide immediate experience.

Hunter Cantwell has performed well at quarterback when Brohm was hurt in the past, and he'll get his chance at the full-time job this fall. He's 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, and has a strong arm.

Running back George Stripling as well as fullback Brock Bolen also return. This, plus the dearth of wide receivers (leading 2007 pass catchers Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia decided they wanted to play on Sundays and Patrick Carter was a senior), may mean more of an emphasis on a ground attack for the pass-minded Kragthorpe, at least early on.

Rod Council is a solid cornerback, and DT Adrian Grady had a strong 2006 season before a torn pectoral muscle cost him half of last season.

The Big East should be even more competitive next year, but the experience of watching bowl games on TV might inspire the Cardinals to get better.
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