Cardinals Workout for Second Time in Charlotte
December 26, 2014 | Football
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The University of Louisville football team practiced for two hours in full pads under sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s at Ardkey Fell High School on Friday afternoon.
The Cardinals were supposed to practice at Charlotte Latin, but switched locations because of wet conditions.
Louisville practiced in full pads for the first time in recent weeks and worked through a number of team and special teams situations. This marked the second of four practices for the Cardinals (9-3, 5-3 ACC) as they prepare for their Belk Bowl matchup versus No. 13 Georgia (9-3, 6-2 SEC ) on Dec. 30 at Bank of America Stadium.
"We came out here to be physical," senior outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin said after practice. "We are facing a great running back in Nick Chubb. We have a great challenge in facing Chubb, who runs hard so we had to come out today and have a great practice."
The Cardinals have been great against the run all season, entering the game ranked third in the nation in rushing defense. Georgia loves to run the football and comes into the Bell Bowl averaging 255.0 yards on the ground.
"This will be one of the most physical offensive lines we have faced all season," senior linebacker Deiontrez Mount said. "Georgia is big upfront. They remind us of Boston College, who liked to run the football. Georgia wants to run the football first. It's going to be a very physical game."
The Cardinals had a picture-perfect day on Friday with sunny skies and a perfect temperature for practice.
"Charlotte is a beautiful city," Mount said. "The weather has been perfect and it's been a perfect experience for my last bowl game."
The Cardinals will get an opportunity Saturday morning to visit Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Richard Petty Experience. The team will get an opportunity to ride three laps around the track at 10:30 a.m.
"I'm excited to do that on Saturday," Mauldin said. "We were able to do that three years ago when we played in the Belk Bowl and it was a great experience."
Louisville players and staff will also have the opportunity to enjoy the Charlotte Hornets versus Orlando Magic game on Saturday night.
Louisville takes on Georgia at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 at the Bank of America Stadium. ESPN will televise the first-ever match-up between the two schools.
The Cardinals will practice at Charlotte Latin at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
