Cardinals End Camp With Mock Scrimmage on Saturday
August 24, 2013 | Football
Aug 24, 2013
CardsTV - Fall Camp Comes to an End
LOUISVILLE, Ky.- It's finally over. After 19-straight days of practice, fall camp for the University of Louisville football program has been completed.
Before the start of practice in August, head coach Charlie Strong promised the most demanding camp his players would ever endure, and the fourth-year head coach didn't disappoint.
The Cardinals started on Aug. 6 and went consecutive days until the players receive their first day off on Sunday. Rest assured there will be no alarms set and the first meal might be lunch because the team receives its first opportunity to sleep late.
"It was the hardest camp since I've been here," junior quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said. "We worked very hard, but I think we have made a lot progress."
As a coach, Strong worries that maybe there are still aspects that his staff didn't cover or work on, but that's a typical coach worrying about every little thing possible.
"The players like it that we are done with camp," Strong said. "However, as a coach you wonder if we got much accomplished or are there still things we need to go over."
On Saturday, before about 150 former players and their families, Strong put the Cardinals through every situation imaginable from defending the Hail Mary pass to the final knee down before a big victory.
"Today was more about getting line up," Strong said. "It was more about the kicking game. Now, we have a hands team and those types of things. But we have a veteran group so they are used to everything."
The Cardinals appear to be ready for a game eight days from now on Sept. 1 when they face Ohio at 3:30 p.m. at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
"It's the last day of camp today," Strong said after a practice in 90-degree heat. "It's good now that we have a game to prepare for and it's game week on Monday. We just got into our pre-game routine. We showed guys where they line-up and how we warm-up. We came back with a mock script and situations for the players."
After 23 practices, the Cardinals are excited to finally end the grueling practices, get their feet back under them, and finally get some rest.
"It's a great feeling," Bridgewater said. "Camp is now over and we can get into our game planning and get ready for Ohio. We still have a couple more days to prepare."
The Cardinals begin game week on Monday with the final five practices before playing their first game and finally getting ready to see how much progress this team made from a year ago.
