Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics
Avery Looking to Build Off Career-Best Season at Linebacker
April 14, 2020 | Football
C.J. Avery led the team with 93 tackles.
Louisville, Ky. – C.J. Avery, a senior on the University of Louisville football team, is just trying to stay in shape. One of the team's most dedicated players, Avery is doing the best he can to stay in game-ready shape while college football is on a delay.
"What I've been doing is just working out wherever I can," Avery said. "Getting work in the driveway, in my backyard, anything like that. It's been pretty difficult not having a lot of resources like facilities, but I've been making it work."
A native of Grenada, Miss., Avery has remained in Louisville for the time being while most of his teammates are spread around the country because of the novel coronavirus.
"I've just been in my backyard and I've even painted lines to kind of mark off lines to actually look like a football field," Avery said. "I've done things like that and I think a lot of my teammates have too… Right now I'm in Louisville then I'll be going home soon."
Avery, who led the team in tackles during the 2019 season with 93, reflected on the past year of Louisville football including the hiring of inside linebackers Derek Nicholson.
"My first impression was that he was a genuine guy who really cares about his players," Avery said. "The first week that he got here, he just kept checking on us so much, making sure we were alright and trying to get to know us. As the spring went on, we all grew closer as a unit. We're looking forward to getting back and spending more time with him."
One of the biggest hires last year was the addition of head strength and conditioning coach Mike Sirignano. The second-year coach has come in and changed the bodies and attitudes of the team, which resulted in a remarkable turnaround from the 2-10 season in 2018.
"A lot of us were not in great shape," Avery said. "Once they got here, they showed us that we could work way harder and that there were a lot of limits we were putting on ourselves… Within a couple of months a lot of players bought in and made the change."
The Cardinals are scheduled to open the season on Sept. 3 versus NC State, but a lot of things throughout the country is on hold for medical reasons.
"We just kind of let it go," Avery said. "It's something that we can't control. We just control what we can control. We're just trying to stay ready for the season whenever it happens, and whenever they tell us we're good to come back to campus, I'm positive everyone will be ready to work hard and everyone is going to be ready for the season."
The Cardinals were one of the programs that were able to hold some spring practices before the outbreak of the virus ceased everything in the world, which has slowed some of the momentum following the team's 8-5 season from a year ago.
"We had a lot more confidence," Avery said. "We came off a great bowl win against a really good team in the Music City Bowl. I think that was probably the best we played as a team. That's a lot of confidence when we step back on the field. We look forward to getting that back, being around each other, and to keep it rolling."
The fourth-year senior is looking forward to the upcoming 2020 season because of how far the team has evolved over the last two years.
"I think we'll take a big step forward," Avery said. "A lot of people came onto the field for spring practice with a lot of confidence trying to build off of last season. So as a group I think we'll take a big step forward." On things he's working at this offseason, "I try to make sure my game is complete all-around. I'm working on more coverage things and hand usage, just things like that."
"What I've been doing is just working out wherever I can," Avery said. "Getting work in the driveway, in my backyard, anything like that. It's been pretty difficult not having a lot of resources like facilities, but I've been making it work."
A native of Grenada, Miss., Avery has remained in Louisville for the time being while most of his teammates are spread around the country because of the novel coronavirus.
"I've just been in my backyard and I've even painted lines to kind of mark off lines to actually look like a football field," Avery said. "I've done things like that and I think a lot of my teammates have too… Right now I'm in Louisville then I'll be going home soon."
Avery, who led the team in tackles during the 2019 season with 93, reflected on the past year of Louisville football including the hiring of inside linebackers Derek Nicholson.
"My first impression was that he was a genuine guy who really cares about his players," Avery said. "The first week that he got here, he just kept checking on us so much, making sure we were alright and trying to get to know us. As the spring went on, we all grew closer as a unit. We're looking forward to getting back and spending more time with him."
One of the biggest hires last year was the addition of head strength and conditioning coach Mike Sirignano. The second-year coach has come in and changed the bodies and attitudes of the team, which resulted in a remarkable turnaround from the 2-10 season in 2018.
"A lot of us were not in great shape," Avery said. "Once they got here, they showed us that we could work way harder and that there were a lot of limits we were putting on ourselves… Within a couple of months a lot of players bought in and made the change."
The Cardinals are scheduled to open the season on Sept. 3 versus NC State, but a lot of things throughout the country is on hold for medical reasons.
"We just kind of let it go," Avery said. "It's something that we can't control. We just control what we can control. We're just trying to stay ready for the season whenever it happens, and whenever they tell us we're good to come back to campus, I'm positive everyone will be ready to work hard and everyone is going to be ready for the season."
The Cardinals were one of the programs that were able to hold some spring practices before the outbreak of the virus ceased everything in the world, which has slowed some of the momentum following the team's 8-5 season from a year ago.
"We had a lot more confidence," Avery said. "We came off a great bowl win against a really good team in the Music City Bowl. I think that was probably the best we played as a team. That's a lot of confidence when we step back on the field. We look forward to getting that back, being around each other, and to keep it rolling."
The fourth-year senior is looking forward to the upcoming 2020 season because of how far the team has evolved over the last two years.
"I think we'll take a big step forward," Avery said. "A lot of people came onto the field for spring practice with a lot of confidence trying to build off of last season. So as a group I think we'll take a big step forward." On things he's working at this offseason, "I try to make sure my game is complete all-around. I'm working on more coverage things and hand usage, just things like that."
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