The First Spring Practice Kicks Off the Satterfield Era

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It's been a long road on to the practice field for University of Louisville head football coach Scott Satterfield.

Hired on December 4, Satterfield put together an outstanding staff and was able to piece together a solid recruiting class last Wednesday.

All that hard work translated to the field of play, as the Cardinals took the field for their first spring practice in the Trager Indoor Practice Facility on Monday.

"First of all, it was awesome to be out on the football field finally with these guys and just to be around them," Satterfield said after the squad's practice on Monday evening. "This is an eager team. It's a bunch of guys that are hungry and eager to get out on the football field and learn from all our coaches and everybody that's involved about what we're wanting."

The Cardinals put the 2018 season in the rear-view mirror and are ready for a fresh start with a new coaching staff and a blank slate. If the first practice was any indication, the healing process has officially begun.

There was a new vibe indoors for the swift, intense two-hour workout, which pleased the first-year head coach.

"One thing that we'll continue to talk about this whole offseason is attitude and effort, which takes zero talent. These guys had great attitudes today and showed a lot of effort."

The change in atmosphere certainly wasn't lost on the players, who have worked hard this winter to not only change their bodies, but also change their attitudes.

"It's a lot more positive," said junior wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick. "Taking steps forward, not living in the past. I'm excited for the future, I'm excited for what's going on around here and the atmosphere is changing around here dramatically."

After a 2-10 finish last season, the Cardinals didn't look like a team who felt sorry for themselves. With music blaring and new voices on the practice field, the Cardinals embraced an entirely new format to practice, and worked at a speed that they weren't quite used to under the new staff.

Satterfield understands his team might be swimming mentally, but wants his team to focus on each day of practice, and that starts with Monday's first workout.

"We got so much film to work off of today to go back in and hopefully correct before we get back out here on Wednesday, but it was just fun to get out and work with our guys and get around them and see where we're at after day one," Satterfield said.

"We have a lot of work to do, but most football teams do first spring practice. That's the fun part. These guys are eager to get back into the building and go back to work and learn off their mistakes today and come back on Wednesday."

The Cardinals will look to take another step forward on Wednesday afternoon with practice No. 2 in the Satterfield era.

University of Louisville Athletics

The First Spring Practice Kicks Off the Satterfield Era

Related News

Players Mentioned

Dez Fitzpatrick

Related Videos