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Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

The CC Summer Tour 2016 is on to Iceland, where Wolf "The Dentist" Stannson is learning all about Reggie Bonnafon.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium It's opening night in the world of high school football, and Trinity's game against Nashville Ensworth (which features U of L commit Rodney Owens) has been named by USA Today as one of the 10 best in the country. The C-J's Jason Frakes gives his picks for all the biggest games in the area tonight.

I_medium It's also exactly one week until Hawaii and Cal officially(?) kick off the 2016 college football season in Australia. We're almost there, guys and girls.

I_medium After an impressive seven days, Eli Rogers has been chosen as the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.

I_medium Mike Zimmer chose not to play Teddy Bridgewater in last night's preseason game, and Vikings fans were pissed.

Here are two of them:

I_medium ESPN says Louisville has the third-best front seven in the ACC.

3. Louisville: The Cardinals have two players who could receive conference defensive player of the year votes in Devonte Fields and Keith Kelsey. Fields came into his own at the end of last season and could be poised for a big year. The line lost a first-round pick, but tackle DeAngelo Brown is one of the strongest players on the team.

I_medium David Hale tackles his weekly ACC football mailbag.

I_medium Gary Barnidge is the biggest cinephile in the NFL, and he hates that every other player he talks to says his favorite movie is Gladiator.

He's also really good at catching touchdown passes.

I_medium College basketball has a 24-hour tip-off marathon to kick off its season every year, so why don't we do the same thing football? I would watch.

I_medium The ACC Network Extra is officially up and running.

I_medium Tom Jurich tossin' around some slight shade at this afternoon's U of L football kickoff luncheon.

I_medium The NBA announced Friday that the 2017 All-Star game is moving from Charlotte to New Orleans because of a discriminatory state law in North Carolina. Don't be surprised if the NCAA makes a similar move with NCAA Tournament games in the near future.

I_medium Rodger Sherman has a fantastic read from Rio in which the slowest runners and swimmers at the Olympics explain to him why they compete.

I_medium This is how you vacation.

I_medium Congrats to Stephan Van Treese, who has signed a new deal with Niigata Albirex of Japan's top professional league. Also be sure to click that link for blocks of Japanese text sandwiching a picture of SVT and a single quote from him in English. It's pretty much how every news story ever should look.

I_medium College hoops coaches say that Under Armour now has more influence on the sport than adidas, and that UA is beginning to compete with Nike.

I_medium Brett McMurphy has Louisville at No. 14 on his preseason AP poll ballot.

I_medium Former Louisville baseball player Aaron Gershenfeld has been hired as an assistant coach at Vandy, which is awesome news for him, but has understandably given rise to some conflicting emotions among his former teammates.

I_medium Shoutout to Collegiate soccer player Regan Kommor for giving the two best answers in the history of the C-J's high school athletes profile series.

Q: What are your other interests/hobbies?

A: I'm a huge U of L sports fan, so going to their games. I babysit, I bake, hang out with my friends.

Q: How's the U of L football team going to do this season?

A: I hope we do well, I think we'll do well, if Lamar Jackson does well. I've spent my childhood going to those games, so that's going to be the hardest part of going to college, not (leaving) my mom, not (leaving) my brother, or anything. It's going to be not being able to go to those games.

Q: You wear No. 5. Is there a significance to that?

A: Earl Clark, he was my favorite U of L player. I started wearing it when I was younger and have ever since. It was my club and high school number.

I missed the games more than my family too.

I_medium Kentucky football ticket sales are down 14 percent from last season. Yahtzee.

I_medium Anonymous college basketball coaches say that recruiting now is just as dirty as it was five years ago.

I_medium John Calipari's new book is nothing if not original.

He's going to try like hell to coach at Louisville in 10 years.

I_medium Jeff Greer's preseason profile series continues with a look at Donovan Mitchell.

I_medium It's an insider story (there's your warning, people), but ESPN lists Lamar Jackson as the No. 1 breakout player for the 2016 college football season.

1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

2015 stats: 1,840 passing yards, 12 touchdowns (eight interceptions); 960 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns

A head coach texted Insider this summer after watching some of Louisville's offense on film. Jackson's play had jumped off the screen.

"He's the next big thing in college football," the Power 5 coach said. "He's going to blow up this year. Knew he was really good, but he's a freak show talentwise."

Jackson rushed for 412 yards and four touchdowns in wins against Kentucky and Texas A&M to cap his freshman season. But a 12-8 TD-to-INT ratio and a 55 percent completion mark left coaches wondering about Jackson's ceiling as a passer.

Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino told us that the arm strength is no issue whatsoever. He said Jackson, who is up 15 pounds to 220, has made large strides this spring and summer in terms of his footwork.

"He's going to be a much more accurate passer," Petrino said. "He's a guy who knows the offense better, too."

Jackson's 519 yards and eight touchdowns in the spring game seemed to indicate definitive progress. We'll know early in the year how far he has come: Louisville hosts Florida State in Week 3.

I_medium The Crunch Zone makes five bold predictions for the upcoming Cardinal football season.

I_medium Sports Illustrated's college hoops scouting notebook gives some love to Rick Pitino and his big summer.

Louisville, Pitino make post-July moves

Louisville went through a rough patch last year with NCAA allegations and an eventual self-imposed ban from postseason play, but the off-season has been kind to Rick Pitino and the Cardinals, as they've reeled in a pair of top-100 prospects since the July evaluation period ended.

The action started on Aug. 4 when No. 30 overall prospect Malik Williams committed to Louisville over the likes of Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue and a host of other high-major schools.

Williams, who was one of the top performers of the summer, brings skill and finesse to the power forward position. His offensive attack is versatile and effective. He's capable of stepping out on the floor and burying jump shots, and he has tremendous touch around the goal.

While adding a talented power forward was at the top of Louisville's wish list, the Cardinals also had to add a point guard in 2017, especially after missing on their top prospects at the position in 2016. They set their sights on Darius Perry and Makai Ashton-Langford.

On Tuesday, Perry, Scout's No. 80 overall prospect, opted for Louisville, picking the school over Georgia. Perry fits the mold of a Louisville guard, as he's an aggressive, tough and scoring-minded lead guard who has a lot of potential as a defender.

With the addition of Perry this week, Louisville moved up to No. 5 in the 2017 recruiting class rankings. The Cardinals have at least two more scholarships available and have honed in on Brandon Randolph, Alex O'Connell, and Lance Thomas.

I_medium Chris Simms says (video) that Eli Rogers is like a mini Antonio Brown.

I_medium Athlon lists Lamar Jackson as the nation's No. 2 DARKHORSE HEISMAN candidate.

2. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

When it comes to the ACC this year, you're likely to hear plenty about Florida State and Clemson. The same is true when it comes to the conference's Heisman hopes with Dalvin Cook and the likely favorite for the award in Deshaun Watson. But while that's an impressive top two, don't overlook the budding star from Louisville in the electrifying Jackson. A dual-threat signal-caller who can beat you with his arm and his legs, he jumped on many folks' radar with a big bowl win that included more than 200 yards passing and rushing. He'll be even more refined this year as a sophomore with plenty of opportunities to post big numbers in head coach Bobby Petrino's system. The Cardinals have a lot coming back and if they upset either one of the top dogs in the ACC, they could very well find their young star of a quarterback in New York when the calendar turns over to December.

Gonna need that darkhorse Heisman/potential breakout star ability in order to beat either Florida State or Clemson, which are two of the biggest games on Louisville's 2016 schedule in my opinion.

Houston's Greg Ward Jr. tops the list, by the way.

I_medium She looks so proud.

I_medium Esquire's out here asking the big question we've all been too afraid to pose: Does Marge Simpson have any friends?

I_medium Dee Smith received some motherly love at today's kickoff luncheon.

I_medium The U of L women's soccer team has named its captains for 2016.

I_medium Josh Harvey-Clemons had a strong Cardinal debut in 2015, but he has his sights set on much larger goals in his final year college ball.

I_medium And finally, R&R is live from Lynn Stadium today from 3-6. Listen as I try to stare over the fence and give updates on how Lamar Jackson looks.

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