Sweet little nugget tucked in at the end of this release about the Cards going through mat drills for a second time on Thursday.

Heading the field to stretch at 5:45 a.m., the Cardinals hit the turf for about an hour before most of the team heads to its 8 a.m. classes. Under the direction of head coach Charlie Strong and the rest of the coaching staff, the Cardinals continue to prepare for what hopes be a promising season.

After getting the first session done last Wednesday, the Cardinals were better prepared for what they faced this time. The drills were quicker with less mistakes, which pleased Strong.

"The guys are working hard," said Strong. "They are learning what it's going to take to win another championship, so they are giving good effort. We have a long road ahead of us, but I like the direction we are headed."

Louisville works out Monday-Friday in the weight room and in the practice facility, lifting weights, running and doing other work to prepare them for the start of a new season.

The Cardinals will be back in action next Wednesday at 5:45 a.m. Louisville starts spring practice on March 21. Strong also announced that the first three practices will be open to the public (March 21, March 23, March 24).

If the Cards are still alive and kicking in the NCAA Tournament, then yeah, that week could have potential.

Maybe Charlie will even be wearing a Santa hat. No, no, it's too much, it's too much.

In news that has been expected for several weeks, Charlie Strong officially named Shawn Watson as his offensive coordinator for the 2012 season on Monday.

Watson served as U of L's quarterbacks coach last season, but assumed play-calling duties beginning with Louisville's fifth game of the season at North Carolina. Under Watson, the Cardinals increased their scoring average from 18.8 points per game to 23.3 and scored 24 or more points in five of the last eight games.

"I'm very grateful for the opportunity that Charlie has given me at the University of Louisville," Watson said in a release. "I'm looking forward to working with this outstanding staff and a good nucleus of young and talented players."

In addition to Watson's promotion, Strong announced that former graduate assistant Sherrone Moore has been named the new tight ends coach, and offensive line coach Dave Borberly is the new running game coordinator.

"This is a great opportunity for me and I'm very excited for this challenge," Moore said in a release. "I'm excited about working with coach Watson and trying to win another BIG EAST championship. I had a great chance to work with the tight ends toward the end of last year, and I'm excited about the challenges ahead with this young group."

Whole 'lotta Card-lovin' going on here.

Andrea Adelson has a nice Q&A with ESPN's reigning Recruiter of the Year, U of L's Clint Hurtt.

The whole thing is worthy of your time, but here's a portion:

What was a bigger sell on the recruiting trail -- Coach Strong getting a contract extension or saying you were co-Big East champs?

CH: It was a combination of both. Obviously everyone wants to know security, are Coach Strong and our staff going to stay in place? We have great people on our staff. Coach Strong did an unbelievable job putting together the right group of people. Kids want to make sure we're in place. That's a lot of the negative recruiting part. Everybody expects Coach Strong to follow suit with what past coaches have done here, but we have to help them understand this is a place we enjoy. This is not a quick stopping place for us as a coaching staff. Obviously it's a lot easier to go into homes and say we have a part of the Big East championship, but we have nowhere to go but up. We want to represent the conference in a BCS game. We feel like the cup is half full. The Belk Bowl is great but we have a bigger plan.

...

Which of these players is the best of the group?

CH: We are excited about them all. It’s hard to put a finger on who we say we like the best. We're excited and fired up about all of them. The kids who have a head start -- Keith Brown, James Burgess, Gerod Holliman – they’re showing early signs of being heavy contributors and special players in the program.

I strongly urge all of you to watch the video above at some point today. It's a 30-minute commitment, but it's worth it.

Some highlights:

-- Strong is very excited about the class and commends the staff on the tremendous job they did over the past several months. The class fills several positions of need with a group of highly talented and motivated players.

--He reiterates his feeling that this city deserves a winner, and he and the staff are working incredibly hard to make that happen.

--He recognizes the importance of keeping local talent, but also says you have to get the best players from out-of-state to convince the in-state guys that they need to stay home.

--The program won't get to the point he wants it to be until the best local talent starts staying home. He doesn't understand why the best players from around the country understand that they can win big at Louisville when some of the guys from around the area don't seem to be of the same mind.

--On the near future of U of L football: "It's going to be special."

--Says he can't address Ace Wales specifically, but does make some comments about the staff only being able to assess a player and then offer him a scholarship. Says after that it's on the young man to decide whether or not he wants to be a part of this.

--The U of L staff no longer has to coach effort. The players now have an understanding for what the program is all about and what his coaching staff expects out of each and every one of them.

-- Knows the Cardinal program was rolling, went to the Orange Bowl and then "for some reason it stopped." They're working hard to get back to that point and he feels they're on their way.

--The team had a taste of part of a conference championship last season, and now it's on them to take that next step up. It's all about how badly they want it.

--There's still a "space or two" available in this class.

--Next year's class will be much smaller.

--Says the best thing about the 2012 class is the attitudes and work ethic of the players. They all understand what Louisville is about and want to be a part of it.

--"Every one of these young men wanted be in this program...They see something special that's about to happen here."

Overall, I think this is a rock solid class loaded with size and guys who are going to be key contributors for multiple years. The linebacking trio of Dawson, Burgess and Brown is about as good as any you'll find in the country.

The almost forgotten pieces are Gerod Holliman, a 2010 U.S. Army All-American who definitely has the potential to compete for a starting safety positon right away, and Florida transfers Robert Clark and Gerald Christian, who could be huge assets in 2013 and 2014.

Strong also landed those specialty position players that you have to get in every class. I think Will Gardner is extremely underrated and could definitely be the starting quarterback at U of L once the 2015 season rolls around. And fans have already fallen in love with running back Brandon Radcliff, who provides the combination of speed and power that the Cards have needed in short-yardage situations for the past several seasons.

I don't think there's any question that Strong's statement about the future being "special" was genuine. You don't have to strain to see that special thinks are happening here.

Definitely a good day to be a Cardinal.

Via: Howie Lindsey

Fully in support of:

It's been a bizarre final recruiting period for Central running back Anthony "Ace" Wales, and it has come to an end with him signing to play football at Western Kentucky.

The leading rusher in the history of Jefferson County, Wales announced on Jan. 16 that he had committed to U of L and that he wanted "to be the face of Louisville football." This came just about an hour after another running back, Brandon Radcliff out of Miami, had also committed to Charlie Strong.

Louisville fans celebrated the dual commitments, but then word began to spread that the Cardinal coaching staff may not have been as thrilled.

What happened over the succeeding couple of weeks is murky, but the common thought is that Wales held a scholarship offer from Louisville for two years and if he wanted to be a Cardinal as badly as he claims he did, then he probably shouldn't have waited until another running back committed before he pulled the trigger.

Wales now joins DaMarcus Smith, Tyrone Pearson and Michael Fluellen as talented local players who were heavily recruited but who will now play their college ball in the Sun Belt for one reason or another.

I received a text when news of Wales' commitment broke saying that Western should change its nickname to "Misfit Toys." Although that's probably not going to happen ("Never say never" --Bieber), the image of Charlie in the Box serving as a college football mascot brought a smile to my face.

Anyway, it's always disappointing not to see the top local talent wear (Cardinal) red and black, but there's every indication that Wales had ample opportunity to play football at Louisville if he really wanted to. I'm disappointed it's not going to happen, but I wish him the best at WKU.

So Louisville's recruiting class is now set at 24 players. Charlie Strong is set to speak on the class momentarily.

DeAndre Herron and Pedro Sibiea, two linemen who had been rumored to be wavering in the days lating up to national signing day, both signed with U of L without issue on Wednesday.

Sibiea had recently visited Minnesota and at one point was even rumored by some to have become a Gopher-lean. Herron, and Indiana native, was offered a scholarship by IU at the last second and had been briefly considering staying home in the Hoosier State.

But with the time to decide upon them, both are officially bound for The Ville.

Sibiea:

Herron:

One final note: Central running back Anthony "Ace" Wales will be announcing his future plans this afternoon at 1:30. Wales, the leading rusher in the history of Jefferson County, is reportedly deciding between Louisville (where he will be asked to greyshirt because of his shoulder injury) and Western Kentucky.

A lot of folks seem to think he'll be a Hilltopper, but Jody Demling said his coach told him just last night that he'd be shocked if Wales didn't choose U of L and greyshirting.