Cardinals Begin Practice in Orlando
December 23, 2013 | Football
Dec. 23, 2013
ORLANDO, Fla.- While families across the nation are getting ready for the Christmas holidays, the University of Louisville football team started its bowl preparations on Monday afternoon in Orlando, Fla., for the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Under sunny skies and about 80 degrees, the Cardinals worked out for two hours at the First Academy. Competing in shorts and shoulder pads, the Cardinals were excited to begin practice for their appearance against Miami on Saturday night.
"We are in game preparation, so we were focusing on first and 10 and play action," head coach Charlie Strong said after practice. "We have been practicing for a week now. It's all about the game and the approach to the game. We just have to be sharp and focus on our keys and responsibilities."
Having defeated the Hurricanes only once in school history, the Cardinals are anxious about taking on a program with so much tradition, and also one they will face when UofL moves into the ACC next season.
"We are playing a quality opponent," Strong said. "We are playing an opponent that now we are going to see on our schedule in the ACC next season. It's going to be a measuring stick at just how far we need to go and just how much better we need to get."
The Hurricanes, who were ranked as high as seventh in the nation, are an outstanding team on both sides of the football, but they are extremely explosive on the offensive side of the football.
"If you look at them offensively, they are a good football team," Strong said. "They have a very strong offensive line. Their wide receivers can really run and the quarterback does a good job of managing the offense. Defensively, they don't give up the big play, and they will make you earn everything you get."
Leading Miami on offense, quarterback Stephen Morris has made the Hurricanes go all season. The 6-foot-2 senior has thrown 2,868 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, and has the ability to get out of the pocket and make plays with his feet.
"Stephen (Morris) is surrounded by some really good players," Strong said. "He just does a great job of just managing the offense. Their offensive line does a great job of blocking. They are big up front and the wide receivers do a good job of getting down the field. They have a lot of speed and they play at a high level."
The most dangerous player on the UM roster is wide receiver and kick returner Stacy Coley. The Pompano Beach native has caught 30 passes for 559 yards and seven touchdowns, but also is averaging 26.5 yards a kick return and 22.0 yards a punt return.
"We have to key on Stacy Coley," safety Calvin Pryor said. "He has speed. We have to slow him down and make him do something he doesn't normally do."
The Cardinals have faced explosive offenses this season, but are probably facing the best, and probably the one with the most team speed when taking on the Hurricanes. Pryor thinks this is definitely the biggest challenge his second-ranked unit faced this season.
"To be honest, this is probably the best offense we have faced since I've been at the University of Louisville," Pryor said. "They have big play-makers in the quarterback and running back position, and even the tight end gets the ball and can make things happen with it. We just have to be sound and read our keys and make plays on the ball."
The Cardinals hit Universal Studios on Monday, but when they return to the practice fields on Tuesday, it will be business as usual.
