Practice Blog #5 - Rain Moves Team Indoors
August 10, 2009 | Football
Aug. 10, 2009
Louisville, Ky. - Thunder and severe rain moved the University of Louisville football practice indoors, as the Cardinals put on full pads for the first time this summer.
The Cardinals got 23 of 24 periods of practice outdoors before severe rain showers moved the team indoors. The Cardinals opened their full pad practice with Cardinal Alley, one of the most entertaining and physical drills of practice. It pits a blocker and a defender against one another with the defender trying to tackle the ball carrier within a small boundary.
"We finally put the pads on today," said head coach Steve Kragthorpe. "We had a physical practice and I saw some good hitting. We are doing some good things on both sides of the football. I'm very pleased with the way we are practicing. I like the team period we had at the end of practice. We matched the offense and defense against one another in third down situations, and the offense won."
Kragthopre made the losing team run gassers, but because the Cardinals have molded themselves into a true team - the whole team ran together.
The offense won the 12-play battle, 7-5. The offense recorded three first downs on their first three plays - a pass to tight end Mike Fennerty, a reception by running back Victor Anderson and a run by running back Bilal Powell, who looked like his old self this afternoon. Powell, who was coming off surgery in June, ran with power and also caught the ball well out of the backfield.
The defense pressured quarterback Zack Stoudt on his two plays and recorded a pair of stops, including a sack by Rodney Gnat.
Quarterback Adam Froman scrambled for a first down and also hit wide receiver Drew Robinson on a nice reception Robinson had a great practice - making numerous acrobatic receptions and showing sure hands.
The Cardinals return to the practice fields on Tuesday afternoon. Their first two-a-day practice is Wednesday.
