Friday morning Cardinal news and notes

—Just as Deng Adel and Donovan Mitchell did a year ago, V.J. King, Ray Spanding and Anas Mahmoud will spend this weekend at the Adidas Nations camp in Los Angeles. Hopefully they make the same impact at the event this year as Mitchell and Adel did 12 months ago.

—The U of L men’s soccer team will begin the 2017 season ranked No. 9 in the coaches poll. The Cards are one of eight ACC teams in the poll, six of those teams are in the top 10, which is absurd.

—Louisville is No. 18 in ESPN’s preseason top 25 .

18. Louisville Cardinals: It's hard to remember a preseason in which an incumbent Heisman Trophy winner received less buzz than Lamar Jackson has in recent weeks. Let's not forget what Jackson can do when given room to operate. Louisville's offensive line was a mess late last season, but if new position coach Mike Summers develops the group, the Cardinals will factor in the ACC race. Cornerback Jaire Alexander gives new defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon a dynamic playmaker.

Florida State is No. 2, Clemson is No. 5, Miami is No. 16, and Virginia Tech is No. 22.

—The C-J’s Jason Frakes lists out the top 10 candidates to win Kentucky’s Mr. Football in 2017. Several of them are familiar names.

—It’s easy for it to get lost with the college football countdown nearing its end, but college hoops tips off exactly 100 days from yesterday.

—This Deadspin piece on a Reds fan who almost fell over the railing and died at old Riverfront Stadium in 1981 is really good.

—NFL.com ranks the top quarterbacks in college football and has Lamar Jackson at No. 4.

4. Lamar Jackson, Louisville

The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner is an explosive runner with A-plus arm talent. As a rare playmaker capable of scoring from anywhere on the field on a designed or improvised run or a homerun throw, Jackson is an A-level prospect who piques the interest of scouts looking for a game changer at the position. While scouts will certainly want to see him evolve as a pocket passer (improve completion rate, accuracy and overall efficiency), he possesses a rare set of skills that could make him Mike Vick 2.0 in the right system. With Bobby Petrino slated to feature more pro-style (under-center) formations and plays this season, the football world might get a better feel for Jackson's potential during his junior campaign.

The disrespect continues.

Sam Darnold of USC is No. 1.

—College GameDay is headed to ... Bloomington?

—Ballard High product and former U of L signee Jo Adell is hitting .354 with four home runs in his young professional career.

—Good news, I suppose.

Now lets use some of that growth money for infra-red football unis.

—This should go without saying, but people really need to stop hiring Dave Bliss.

—Miami Dolphins wide receiver coach Shawn Jefferson has some strong opinions on DeVante Parker’s potential to be an imaginary creature of extraordinary size.

“He’ll be a monster,” Jefferson said of the 2015 first-round pick from Louisville. “If he keeps progressing like we think he can he’ll be invited to the Monster Bowl after the Super Bowl.

“His name is not DeVante, he’s a Monster. So if he keeps performing like this he’ll be invited to the Monster Ball after the season is over. “

This high praise follows offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen in May saying about Parker, “I really think he’ll have a great big year, a gigantic year for us.”

Not a “monster” year then? Disappointing.

—The U of L women’s soccer team is picked to finish 12th in the 14-team ACC this season.

—TNIAAM looks at the state of the defensive lines in the ACC.

—He’s going to need to be even better this season.

—The L Club has announced that there will be buses taking Cardinal fans to Indianapolis.

—Bill Connelly’s Mississippi State preview has a lot to say about Peter Sirmon’s 2016 defense.

—The Crunch Zone serves up 30 questions and 30 answers for the upcoming football season.

—The UCF kicker who was kicked off the team because he wouldn’t give up his lucrative YouTube channel clapped back on Thursday.

—The effect of transfers Rodjay Burns and PJ Mbanasor is already being felt in practice.

—The first full week of pre-order sales for 100 Things Louisville was remarkable. Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun. More updates are coming soon.

—Jerry Smith’s Team Challenge ALS fell to Overseas Elite in the championship game of “The Basketball Tournament” Thursday night. Overseas Elite has now won the tournament three years in a row.

—The Courier-Journal is on tilt. That’s the only explanation for the things they’ve been doing recently.

I didn’t want to Google “what is a Jiftip” at 9 in the morning, but I did, and that’s how they win.

—Charles Bassey, the No. 1 player in the class of 2019, appears to be headed to Louisville where he’ll take classes at DeSales and play for the new Aspire Academy.

—Freshman cornerback Russ Yeast is already drawing some early praise.

—There is a new system in place for U of L women’s basketball tickets this season, and more than a few fans have expressed their displeasure.

—I’ve watched this so many times.

—After a rough go in New York, Calvin Pryor is looking for a fresh start with the Cleveland Browns.

—There’s a Louisville preview over at Tomahawk Nation, where Seminole fans feel quite confident that payback is on the way come October.

—Athlon’s writers serve up their game-by-game preview of Louisville’s 2017 season.

Jon Kinne, welcome to my life as my least favorite Athlon writer, pal.

—Get More Sports likes the Cards to go 10-2.

—A look at college football’s average number of undefeated teams through each week.

—And finally, here’s your Friday Irrelevance:

Have a great Friday, kids.