2002 Statistics

written by Tim Chapman

Whoever will be slinging the 'skin will have a wealthy account of receivers on which to bank. The majority of passes will be thrown at junior WR Joshua Tinch and sophomore dynamo Broderick Clark. Tinch is a reliable target with good vision of the field, able to find holes in coverage and exploit a defense's weakness(es). Clark is a great runner in the open field and has tremendous breakaway speed. Translation - if he gets behind you, he's gone!

Another reliable target to help settle the QB is senior TE Ronnie Ghent. A three-time All-CUSA selection, Ghent is a great pro prospect. He carries the athletic gifts that make him a passing threat and the strength to make him a principal blocker in the run-game.

We expect the running game to play a much bigger part with the emergence of Florida State sophomore transfer Eric Shelton. Shelton (6'3", 245 lbs) is much like current Seminole back Greg Jones- a powerful runner, with enough speed to turn either corner and get downfield. He had a great spring, and we feel this former Parade All-American will pay big dividends in the Cards future.

The Louisville offense can hang their hat on… well, wait a minute… uh oh. The Cardinals had one of the better offensive units the last few years, but they slipped (from their self-set norm) in 2002, and all who made an impact are gone.

The replenishing starts most notably at quarterback, where three legitimate candidates battle it out into fall practices, and likely throughout the season. The favorite coming out of spring ball is junior Stefan LeFors. The 6'2", 192-lb lefty is more mobile than Ragone. Hot behind him, though, are redshirt freshman Justin Rascati and incoming marvel, Michael Bush. Rascati has a bit more zip than LeFors, but Bush is the wild card. Insiders are saying that the only thing keeping Bush behind is his unfamiliarity with the Cardinal offense. Should he pick up quickly over the summer, you could be seeing this young man taking snaps as early as the Governor's Cup game against Kentucky.

If the offensive line doesn't take better care of the new QB, then it will be another long, painful season. The good news is that the line returns, in tact, four of five 2002 starters. The bad news is that they gave up the second-most sacks in the nation (43). This group will be deeper, so look for rotations and mobility to be the keys that prevent an encore level of performance.

WR/KR Broderick Clark (PHOTO CREDIT - Dave Klotz/Louisville Athletics)

written by Tim Chapman

Teams found it hard to throw on the Louisville defense, completing only 48 percent of their passes against the Cards. Two of the top CUSA corners reside in Louisville, junior Laroni Gallishaw and senior Josh Minkins. Between them, they had two combined INTs (both to Minkins) but its simply a tribute to how much respect (and concern) opponents have for this tandem. Both apply constricting man-to-man coverage on the outside, funneling everything to the middle, and allowing the safeties to make/finish plays.

That being said, it is up to two new safeties to handle that downfield action. Departed middle-men Burns and Floyd combined for 202 tackles, 14 pass break-ups, and a third of the team's (paltry) nine INTs. The Cards have high hopes for replacements Kerry Rhodes, a junior, and sophomore Brent Johnson. These two will be aided by depth, primarily redshirt frosh Art Brown. If this group cannot handle the action that comes their way, the defense is in for an unpredictable ride. The key will be to create more turnovers in the secondary, as the DBs nabbed only seven of the Card's 2002 INTs.

Louisville finished with the second best rush defense in C-USA (17th in Div I-A), allowing only 113 yards per game (2.9 yards per carry). Gone, however, are the bookends that forced opposing teams up the middle. Such an approach didn't work for most, as tackles Tyrone Satterfield and Scott Lopez made RBs pay with physicality and pain. Both return to occupy (often double-teams) the middle and ease the burden for their new starting ends.

An integral part of this line will be junior Bobby Leffew. Leffew, possibly their most important front-seven defender, is an active lineman. His strength (to bring down runners) and athletic ability create havoc among any offensive front(s). 'Ville will use Leffew as both an end and tackle to confuse opposing lines and empower theirs. Still, lack of real-game experience remains a concern for this group.

The linebackers will only be as good as their front-seven allow. Senior WLB Rod Day (101 tackles) returns solid and respected by anyone playing offense. He has superb lateral movement and is a great open-field tackler (54 solo). Junior Robert McCune, who we think will fit just fine in this defense, will now occupy the middle. Joining Day on the outside is sophomore Brandon Johnson, who, though undersized, has the quickness to offset his stature.

LB Rod Day (PHOTO CREDIT - Dave Klotz/Louisville Athletics)