The Cardinal Countdown: 15 Days Until Kickoff

#15 Trumaine Washington

Class: Senior

Ht/Wt: 5-10/181

Position: Defensive Back

Hometown: Miami, FL

Twitter: @NoFlyzoneTru

Thoughts: It was a tight race in the offseason, but I think the shock of Trumaine cutting his hair narrowly beat out the surprise of Lamar chopping off his. Tru was a staple "dreadhead" from the jump so the new look will take some adjustment for me. Rumor is that 'lighter' cut could shed .03 seconds off his 40 time though, which could be important over the next few weeks...keep reading.

All Tru has done since he arrived on campus is compete. He fought to get into the rotation at defensive back as a true freshman and set himself up to earn the starting spot as a Sophomore. Since that time he has held onto that job for the last two years, both seasons fighting to earn that spot up until the last few weeks of practice, beating out Shaq for that role last season. Well, here we are again, as Coach Ward said Tru and Cornelius Sturghill are in a full blown position battle to see who will be the starter come September 2nd. While Tru certainly has the pedigree and experience, Sturghill has a speed advantage and some great technique for a Sophomore, still fighting to get back to 100%. If you're forcing me to pick today...I'm betting on Tru. He's shown me time and again he can win those competitions, and I love seeing a senior on the outside who's fought in some rough games the last three years and earned his stripes so to speak, by being an All-ACC selection, leading the team in interceptions as a Sophomore, and I believe he is still the only Louisville player to ever win the Chuck Bednarik Defensive Player of The Week Award for his game against Syracuse in 2015.

In my opinion, corner is one of the most criticized spots on the field as any ball caught in your vicinity, you automatically get pegged for the blown coverage, and Tru has certainly not been immune the last couple years. The difficulty for whoever earns this "open" spot is that history shows they will be targeted..alot. Teams will test Jaire, but if he performs as many expect, it wont happen often and Tru or Sturghill will have to be on their 'A' game to shut down the passing attack. I fully expect them to split some time and Coach Ward even mentioned them being on the field together with Washington playing the nickel at times. The story or Sturghill is impressive (you should read Day 3 on the countdown) but I'd expect Washington to be the man this year once again. As I've mentioned the last couple years, I always expected The Prez (Andrew Johnson) to be the #15 that immediately comes to my mind when I see the jersey, but Tru is a close second and may surpass him this year. Hell of a player who has performed well, often isolated, for over three years now in multiple Top 20 defenses. Guys like Tru help build championship teams, lets hope he gets to be a part of one this year.

Sweet Tweet:

#TaxBoys

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#15 Sean McCormack

Class: Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-5/223

Position: Quarterback

Hometown: Darien, IL

Twitter: @sean_mack3

Thoughts: Since Sean didn't get any live reps last year his breakdown from me is fairly similar to that of last season. In case you missed it, or you simply don't recall a post a made 365 days ago (slacker), his story goes something like this....

McCormack was a late addition to the team in 2016, signing as a preferred walk-on almost two months after National Signing Day back in April. Sean has the look of a big time QB (6-5/195) but never got a D-I offer coming out of Hinsdale South High School up in Chicago. Sean was used limitedly as a Junior before taking on the starting QB role as a Senior. According to an article from the Chicago Tribune’s Bob Narang, Sean accredited his improvement as a Senior to working with his passing coach Jeff Christensen. (Also trained Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo) Sean visited the Louisville campus last year and Petrino and the coaches expressed an interest and Sean loved the way they sold the program to him and the opportunities he would have to earn a scholarship. Nick Petrino said last season they were impressed with his arm strength but needed to work with him on his "athleticism", meaning mobility, flexibility, etc. something not that uncommon for a true freshman.

The story for McCormack is that he has some "competition" at his spot, to put it lightly. One would assume the reigning Heisman trophy winner will likely hold onto the starting role and all signs point to RS Freshamn Jawon Pass earning the backup spot at this stage, so once you get past those guys all McCormack has to do is compete with the 4 star true freshman Malik Cunningham....no problem. In all seriousness, Sean may not ever be the starter but his contributions on the practice field are beneficial to the development of the team, and if nothing else, he can tell his kids, grandkids and anyone who'll listen, he was the backup to the Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in 2016.

Sweet Tweet:

Just a 30 yard out on a rope...NBD

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#15 Clay Bolin

Class: RS Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-0/193

Position: Quarterback

Hometown: Lexington, KY

Twitter: @bolin_clay

Thoughts: If the name 'Bolin' sounds familiar to you, then you must be a fan of the critically acclaimed fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series 'The Legend of Korra', which ran on the network from 2012-2014. No? Hmm, maybe you remember Clay's brother Kyle then, who came into the UK game a couple years ago for the Cards and lead a comeback win over his hometown Cats, then went on to start multiple games for Cards the following season? That's slightly more plausible I guess.

Clay comes to the Cards as a walk-on from Morehead State but all signs point to him gaining immediate eligibility and being able to practice with the team this year without having to sit out. Clay transferred to Louisville for two reasons, to spend more time with his brother, and to learn from one of the best in business, as he hopes to be a coach one day himself. Well, 50% ain't bad, I guess. Three months after Clay announced his move to Louisville, Kyle decided in order to prolong his playing career he was going to transfer out of the program. (Real reason was probably because Clay kept following him around campus, asking to use his Gameboy and Walkman all the time, and kept stealing his clothes. What? Isn't that what brothers fight about?) Kyle took off to Rutgers (where he just earned a role as a team Captain, by the way) and Clay stuck around to pick up a few tricks from Lamar and Company while learning from Petrino.

Glad to have another Bolin on board as that family has always represented the university well, even when those around them weren't all that accepting of Kyle's decision a few years back. Good luck to Clay, I hope Nick teaches him a thing or two about coaching in the years to come. That is the Petrino we're talking about right?

Sweet Tweet:

Hot take, too which I do not disagree. Pretty damn gross fellas. But before you ladies jump on your high horse, ask any bar/restaurant owner and 10 out of 10 will always say the ladies room is far worse than the men's at the end of the night. To recap....you're all disgusting individuals.