Cardinals Open Spring Drills
March 24, 2011 | Football
March 23, 2011
Post-practice reactions from March 23rd Practice
Louisville, Ky. - - The University of Louisville football team began its spring practice Wednesday under head coach Charlie Strong enjoying his team's focus and intensity.
"For the first day, I really liked the effort and the focus of this football team," head coach Charlie Strong said. "The thing I was most happy with this afternoon was the effort they put forth. We have a long way in preparation, but today was a good start."
Despite the threat of inclement weather in the Louisville area, the Cardinals conducted the entire practice on the practice fields. The Cardinals practiced for just over two hours in shorts and helmets and are expected to have their first practice in full pads Saturday.
The Cardinals, who are down in numbers due to 14 players being out with injury, conducted a 25-period practice that featured nine periods of individual drills, special teams periods and team periods.
Because of injuries, many of the positions were up-for-grabs. Quarterback Will Stein ran with the first unit with Alex Kupper at center, Kamran Joyer and Jake Smith at guards and Ryan Kessling and Hector Hernandez at tackle. Victor Anderson returned at running back, while Josh Bellamy, Jarrett Davis, Josh Chichester (tight end) and Scott Radcliff were at the receiver positions.
On defense, George Durant and Marcus Smith were playing with the first unit at defensive end, while Roy Philon and Brandon Dunn were at the tackle spots. Preston Brown, Dexter Heyman and Daniel Brown were at linebacker. In the secondary, Preston Pace and Titus Teague saw a lot of action, while Hakeem Smith and Shenard Holton were at safety.
Louisville will practice again on Friday afternoon at 4:15 p.m.
