Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Steve Jones says that because Louisville is a little better and its schedule is a little easier, big things are coming in 2017.

—The U of L football Kickoff Luncheon is sold out.

—The coaches are excited about the last two days of commitments.

—Marcus Smith, who was released by the Eagles earlier this week, signed with the Seahawks today.

—LaVar Ball threatened to pull his team off the court (again) if a referee who gave him a technical foul wasn’t removed. Adidas removed her and the game continued.

—Whammy Ward goes beyond the Xs and Os.

—Another day of finals at the FINA World Championships was loaded with Cardinals.

—Five-star freshman center Mitchell Robinson packed up his stuff and left Western Kentucky yesterday. Here’s my best guess at what that might mean.

—Ed Sheeran Zach Hamilton fully embracing Cards Summer.

—My dad wrote about educators as unsung heroes. The man’s not wrong.

—Bleacher Report singles out DeAngelo Brown as the best undrafted free agent at Titans camp.

Tennessee Titans: Nose Tackle DeAngelo Brown

If you believe some people were put on this planet for a reason, then it's clear what purpose nose tackle DeAngelo Brown serves: to be a human wall.

Brown spent his college days plugging the middle for the Louisville Cardinals. He's massive at 6'1", 317 pounds and is well-versed in how to use that size while anchoring the front seven. The 23-year-old recorded 40 tackles in each of his final two seasons at Louisville, including 20 for a loss. He also showed interior pass-rushing skill with five sacks.

He'll bring his hulking presence to the Tennessee Titans, one of the few teams that still leans heavily on a mountain-sized nose tackle up front. Brown is a highly effective run stuffer and could quickly settle in right behind starter Sylvester Williams on the depth chart.

I still can’t believe he went undrafted.

—Jeff Brohm made the XFL fun. Now he’s trying to do the same thing to Purdue football.

—Adidas’ growth is currently out-pacing both Nike and Under Armour.

—Last Chance U is reportedly headed to a new school in Kansas for its third season. Sorry, Buddy.

—Bill Connelly power ranks the ACC and puts Louisville in a tier by itself.

Tier 1

1. Florida State

2. Clemson

This part was pretty easy to anticipate, I’m guessing. The two teams that have combined for 138 wins and six conference titles over the past six seasons are going to start out ahead of the pack. And I think it’s pretty safe to say that, because of the quarterback position, the Noles are the more trustworthy team out of the gates.

Clemson’s not only having to replace its best quarterback ever; the Tigers start the year with games against Auburn, Louisville, and Virginia Tech in September. That will either kickstart a surprising repeat run or position them into Rebuild Season mode. They still host FSU, though, so that could make the division race fun.

Tier 2

3. Louisville

The new defensive coordinator hire makes me nervous, but Louisville will basically start 2017 with all the same strengths and weaknesses as last year. Fourth-year Petrino teams tend to undergo massive breakthroughs; it would be a surprise if the Cardinals were too much better than last year, but they’re still going to be very good.

—Congrats to former Card and Butler High School standout Kyle McGrath, who has been called up by the San Diego Padres.

—DeVante Parker was one of two stars from the first day of Dolphins training camp.

—I don’t hate LeBron James tweeting this highlight.

Travis Diener still sucks though.

—Big shoutout to Basil Hayden, The J Wagner Group and M.A.D.S. Gallery for putting together a terrific dinner last night. It was a lot of fun.

—Represent, youngin’.

—The Crunch Zone looks at the best wide receivers in Louisville history.

—The Roanoke Times focuses on Lamar Jackson.

—And finally, this College Football betting site says the best money you can spend this fall is on Louisville.