The Cardinal Countdown: 28 Days Until Kickoff

#28 Terrence Ross

Class: RS Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-1/208

Position: Safety

Hometown: Apoka, FL

Twitter: N/A

Thoughts: Ross could find himself in a larger role this season or he could very well end up duplicating his production from 2014 (3 games/5 tackles), it’s really all up to him. While I think most of us believe JHC is a starting safety the other spot has some question marks. Is it going to Chucky Williams? Will the more experienced Reve get the spot or will he slide back to corner? Will longtime reserve Houchins break the mold? Will an overachieving freshman like Pass or Dee Smith steal the role or will Ross take advantage of the opportunity and earn a significant amount of playing time in his third year in the program?

Ross hasn’t been without controversy as he’s had some disciplinary issues with both coaching staffs, but now is the time to turn the page. I think Ross has the size and skill to be a really good player in the secondary. Maybe the addition of JHC last year puts a damper on his chances of cracking the starting lineup in 2015 but he has to keep his head on straight and be ready to play. According to Petrino both Pass and Smith look the part early on so once again it’s eat or be eaten in a very talented secondary. Ross still has three years of eligibility left so he has time, but the freshman coming in are not looking to be role players, they’re looking to be a factor from day one. Ross will need to have that same focus or he will get left out of the party.

Sweet Tweet: Couldn’t find anything for Ross, but do you think people ever ask him if he’s related to Rick Ross. Both have Florida connections, both enjoy hip hop music and both have a personalized chain of themselves, wearing a chain of themselves. What, Terrence doesn’t have a chain of himself wearing a chain of himself?

You’re slacking T Ross.

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#28 Ryan Jordan

Class: Junior

Ht/Wt: 5-10/212

Position: Running back

Hometown: New Lebanon, OH

Twitter: N/A

Thoughts: Ryan is a new member to the team in 2015 but was present back during spring ball. I assume Ryan was an early enrollee but since I didn’t have a second source I’ll hold off on reporting it (that’s some freaking journalistic integrity there). I know Ryan was on campus though because, you know, pictures…

Ryan was a third team Division V All-State selection out of Ohio and brings some talent and depth to the position for sure. With some research it appears Ryan spent some time at Wittenburg University, a Div III school in Ohio, before arriving here. Similar to my comments regarding Mitchell Allen and Darius Skinner a few days ago, it will be tough for Jordan to see the field behind Radcliff, Scott, Jones, and Smith. Even with James Allen not qualifying, we go pretty deep at the position so I’d expect Jordan’s contributions to be regulated to the practice field this season. Welcome to Cardinal’s Football Ryan.

Sweet Tweet: No twitter for Ryan that I could find so we’ll take this in a different direction. If you’re familiar with calendars and some rudimentary math you may realize that today, 28 days, marks exactly 4 weeks until kickoff. What you may not realize though is that this in fact the fourth year of ‘The Cardinal Countdown’. Obviously some of you may have missed the series in its infancy and to be honest it’s evolved quite a bit over time. Take a look at the very first post back in 2012. 

It was a FanPost that was never tweeted, never shared on Facebook and only had one comment…two days later. In comparison, last  Saturday’s post about a backup long snapper and kicker was tweeted 18 times, shared over 540 times on Facebook and had 9 comments. Unreal.

I’d like to think I’ve learned some things over the last four years; becoming a better writer, maybe slightly funnier and hopefully at the very least a tad more entertaining but  a big thanks to everyone who checks these out when they get a chance. I really do appreciate it. Not sure how much longer the series will go on but I assume I’ll close up shop when it’s either no longer fun for me to do or when it’s no longer worth reading…whichever comes first. In the meantime, we got 4 weeks to go until Louisville Football.

Let’s do this.