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Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

CCBMs in Paris. Goin' Gorillas.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium Louisville baseball is back in action tonight at 6 against Western Kentucky. The Cards walloped the Tops, 17-0 in Bowling Green three weeks ago. U of L then hits the road to face Kentucky tomorrow night at 6:30.

I_medium Zac Ellis of Sports Illustrated says that Lamar Jackson is on the verge of a breakout.

Jackson added several clips to his highlight reel as the season progressed. He set a school record for rushing yards in a game by a quarterback (184) in a 45-3 rout of Samford on Sept. 26—then surpassed that mark twice, including during a 226-yard outing against Texas A&M on Dec. 30. He passed for 307 yards in a 41-21 loss at Florida State on Oct. 17, and he finished second in ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.

Still, by Jackson's own admission, he flew by the seat of his pants for most of the season. He arrived on campus last summer, and he ascended to the starting job by Week 2 thanks largely to the struggles of the veterans listed above him on the depth chart. For much of the fall, he was familiarizing himself with the playbook. "I wasn't really used to the plays," Jackson says. "I was learning them throughout the year."

But Jackson's approach shifted toward the end of the season. During bowl preparation, McGee forced his quarterback to wake up at 6 a.m. for a week straight and plant himself in the film room. "Nobody's in the room," McGee told Jackson, "but you and the video." Two hours per day for seven days, Jackson had an assignment: watch every play from his freshman season and analyze it. What mistakes did I make? What did the defense do to stop me?

Suddenly, the game began to slow down. Jackson noticed a need to improve his footwork and accuracy, as he ranked as just the eight-most efficient passer in the ACC. Before the Music City Bowl, he started making frequent stops by McGee's office with questions. "At first he thought it was a punishment," McGee says. "He thought I was mad at him. But as it got going, he started to like it. He started to see things develop."

Louisville saw a different player the next time Jackson stepped on the field. He threw for 227 yards with two touchdowns against A&M, and he carried 22 times for 226 yards (10.3 per carry) with two more scores. He became the third player in FBS history to throw and rush for at least 200 yards in a bowl game, joining Vince Young (2005) and Johnny Manziel ('12), both Heisman Trophy winners.

I_medium Junior Bridgeman ranks fourth on the latest Forbes list of highest-paid retired athletes.

I_medium Bleacher Report says Sheldon Rankins is going to the Saints with pick 12.

I_medium Gorgui bobblehead? Gorgui bobblehead.

I_medium Bobby Petrino is embracing the heightened expectations that are coming in 2016.

I_medium Montrezl Harrell has moved on from his five-game suspension in the D-League for shoving a ref.

With the NBA Development League season and his five-game suspension over, Rockets rookie Montrezl Harrell returned to the Rockets, but remained on the inactive list. He said he has not heard anything about the status of the appeal of a five-game suspension for shoving an official in a D-League game.

The appeal would be to get some of his salary returned. Appeals of suspensions fewer than 12 games are heard by NBA commissioner Adam Silver, but usually reach an agreement before it gets to him.

"There's nothing I need to say to defend myself," Harrell said of his reputation after the incident. "I know what I thought it was at that moment. I definitely didn't think it was a ref I was pushing. Things happen. It's a learning situation. You learn and you grow.

"That's all behind me. I've served my suspension and my time for the incident. I'm just focused on moving forward. It feels good to be back with the guys. To be with the team, it just feels great. Coming into the locker room, all the guys are joking around like I never left."

I_medium Another article talking about how Louisville basketball is worth more than any other college basketball program in the country.

I_medium Tomahawk Nation has Louisville at No. 3 in its latest ACC baseball power rankings.

I_medium A very handy list:

I_medium Louisville is targeting a number of top players in the 2018 class including New Albany superstar Romeo Langford, who checks in at No. 4 in Scout's latest rankings for that class.

I_medium Of all the atrocities that have occurred in 2016, I'm not sure any compare to this one:

The two heirs to the Andy's TV throne are okay though.

They'll still be able to host our celebrity Derby party on Derby Eve.

I_medium The U of L softball team secured sole possession of second place in the ACC by taking two of three from Virginia Tech.

I_medium Mangok loves the kids.

I_medium Frankie Hughes has landed at Missouri. FULLER .... or something.

I_medium Jamari Peacock is becoming my favorite player in this class.

I_medium Likely Kentucky Derby favorite Nyquist has a direct connection to a former U of L soccer player.

I_medium 247Sports takes a look at what to watch for in all of the remaining ACC spring games.

Louisville: 1 p.m. ET

What to watch for: This could be the first year in Bobby Petrino's return to Louisville that the Cardinals' offense is as prolific as we've come to expect, and it all hinges on sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson. With 10 returning starters and an apparent end to the quarterback battle that endured throughout 2015, many are expecting a breakout campaign from the 6'3, 195-pound signal-caller. The spring game should offer our first glimpse of Jackson in full command of Bobby Petrino's offense and - spring game rules permitting - it should be fun to watch.

I_medium Our long national nightmare is over: Screech is out of jail. America can get back on track now.

I_medium Damion is the coolest.

I_medium Louisville is set to host the first ever Derby Pro Swim Meet.

I_medium The U of L men's soccer team ended its spring season with a 1-0 win over East Tennessee State.

I_medium Antoine Walker spent some time with the Louisville basketball team last week.

I_medium U of L assistant volleyball coach Alex Wilharm has been named as one of The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 Awards for 2016. This award was created in 2009 to honor up-and-coming coaching talent at all levels of the sport.  To qualify for the award, nominees had to be 30 years old or younger in 2015.

I_medium The Russdiculous golf scramble is coming.

I_medium Just as it did in Louisville, Terry Rozier's rebounding ability is making people in Boston fall in love.

Rozier has distinguished himself early in his NBA career with his rebounding ability. Of all guards playing at least eight minutes per game this season, Rozier is ninth in the league in total rebound rate (grabbing 9.9 percent of all available rebounds during his floor time). Many of the names above him have at least a five-inch height advantage and often play the small forward position.

Rozier's no stranger to using his leaping ability to hang with those bigger than him.

"I grew up at a park in a tough neighborhood with a lot of kids that were way taller than me," Rozier said of his time at the Zelma George Recreation Center and nearby Woodland Hills Park in Cleveland, Ohio. "We always played this game '33' and everybody played it tough. So I was always the smallest guy and I had to find a way to get my own rebounds. Whether I had to fight, scratch, bite for it, it was something that I had to do to make a statement in the city in the park.

"So that's something that I always had in me since I was young. Then as I got older, high school, middle school, college, it always translated. It's always been in my mind to go get my own rebounds and start the break myself because it goes back to when I was young, just getting in there."

I_medium The ACC Digital Network has Louisville at No. 3 (video) in its early top five in the conference for 2016-17.

I_medium And finally, my annual offseason TV binge has begun in all its glory, but I'm still open to suggestions. I just wrapped up the first season of Billions on Showtime and thoroughly enjoyed it, although the season finale was a little bit too much "hey, look at how crazy season two of this show is going to be." Also, Rick and Morty is probably the best adult cartoon show of all-time. I heard BoJack Horseman was similar, but three episodes in, I'm a little disappointed.

Again, I am open to more suggestions.

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