Cardinals Move Forward with Outstanding Tuesday Practice
September 16, 2014 | Football
LOUISVILLE, Ky.- There was a common theme after the University of Louisville's Tuesday practice. From the offensive coordinator to the pair of players who addressed the media, each one re-iterated that was one of the best practices of the Bobby Petrino era.
The Cardinals came out with great intensity and focus Tuesday afternoon for the first practice after suffering their first loss of the season. For two hours, the players worked hard to get better and forget about the disappointing 23-21 loss to Virginia.
"I learned from our players today that they have a lot of pride," offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said. "Today, was probably the best practice we had since we been here. There was an extreme response from our players. They were extremely disappointed about what happened to us on Saturday. They are going to do the right things to make sure that doesn't happen to us today."
It would have been easy for the Cardinals to come out flat Tuesday because of Saturday's disappointing outcome, but McGee was pleased with the effort and attitude of the offense, who were held to a season-low 282 yards against Virginia.
"What I was looking for on the practice field today was a response and there was an extreme response," McGee said. "Everything that we are looking for showed up on the practice field today. I learned today that these kids have a lot of pride and what happened on Saturday did affect them."
Sophomore quarterback Will Gardner, who tossed a pair of touchdown passes versus Virginia, showed great leadership in practice on Tuesday, and agreed with McGee on the success of practice this afternoon.
"We had a really great practice," Gardner said. "The guys were flying around making plays. I was very accurate. Things were going great today. The offensive line was finishing blocks. It was a great practice out there today."
The Cardinals turned their focus on a talented FIU defense that is allowing 298.0 yards of offense. They have an aggressive defense and like Virginia, they strive on getting after the quarterback.
"They are a lot better team this year," Gardner said. "They were up 16-0 on Pittsburgh last Saturday so we have to come out and play hard."
Louisville is making its second strip in the last three years to FIU, and defeated the Panthers 28-21 in 2012. The Cardinals were down in the game before holding on for they key road win.
"They are a talented team," McGee said of FIU. "They have a talented defense and they play very hard. It's going to be a challenge and we need to have another great practice on Wednesday."
The Cardinals, 2-1 overall, will try to match Tuesday's practice with another solid one on Wednesday, and that's what Petrino focused on with his team after practice. If the Cardinals can put together the same intensity and focus on Wednesday, it will be a big step forward in the development of this football team.
