Friday morning Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Red by 16.5.

—Competition is the focus heading into tonight’s Spring Game.

—Donovan Mitchell set the Jazz franchise record for being named NBA Rookie of the Month for a fourth time on Thursday.

—The recruiting news continues.

—Mack and company will be meeting with Fordham grad transfer Joseph Chartouny on Friday. Chartouny has a planned visit to Marquette next Tuesday.

—Joe Lunardi’s first Bracketology for 2019 has Louisville in as a No. 8 seed. Gotta say ... I LOVE the draw. Gimmie that bracket, am I right?

—The Lamar Jackson Patriots/Saints buzz continues.

—The Big Ten Network will apparently not be available on Comcast after May 10. That’s gonna be a blow for the league.

—Shoutout to Lauren Brownlow for giving the most thorough answer to the Beauty & the Beast plot hole that I’ve ever received.

—The New York Knicks have reportedly reached out to Jay Wright, but it seems more likely than not that Wright will stick around at Villanova.

—Awesome.

—U of L ranks in the nation’s top 10 when it comes to graduation rate for black male student athletes. Kentucky ranks in the bottom 10.

—Dynasty Football Factory gives a spring rundown of Louisville.

—The Cardinal baseball team can even its ACC record with a road sweep of Virginia Tech this weekend. Here’s a series preview.

—I’m very surprised the first number is this high.

—The CJ analyzes the roster breakdown for tonight’s spring game.

—Louisville basketball camps are back.

—Louisville has reportedly (subscription) reached out to five-star class of 2018 power forward Jordan Brown.

—Tom Brady loves Lamar.

—Best wishes to Sydney going forward.

—Anas Mahmoud was apparently one of the standouts at the Portsmouth Invitational on Thursday. The Portsmouth Invitational is a pre-NBA Draft camp for graduating seniors only.

—Jaylen Smith will not play in Friday’s spring game because of a wrist injury.

—Friday Irrelevance:

—This read on a sportswriter playing his first round of golf in 10 years at Augusta National is pretty wonderful.

—Starting tomorrow, the Cardinal spotlight will shine brightly on Jawon Pass.

“We had meetings this morning at 7 o’clock and I was watching him and timing him walking down the hallway and, he’s picked it up a little bit, but not quite where we need to be yet,” Petrino said, with a smile. “I always remind him, guys that walk fast know where they’re going. Somebody told me that a long, long time ago. I don’t know if it’s true or not. . . . But he has really concentrated on the field on taking over the leadership, on being intense, getting the huddle set, getting out of the huddle, and when we do go no huddle, watching his responsibility of getting guys to the ball and being quicker with everything he does.”

Pass is a laid-back guy. He speaks slowly, with a southern accent, and has shown great patience while waiting his turn behind Jackson. When he’s gotten a chance to play, he has shown flashes of the promise that made him a coveted recruit.

He has been a quick study when it comes to the Louisville offense, Petrino says. He can run the same read-option game Jackson ran at Louisville, but lacks the Heisman winner’s explosiveness and ability to cut so quickly. But that’s not his primary game. Pass is a pocket passer. He’s 6-4, 225, and has had two years to learn under Petrino.

The coach is looking forward to seeing Pass, and his backup, Malik Cunningham, in front of a live crowd.

“To have a real-game situation, I think, I something that he really needs, and Malik too,” Petrino said. “Maybe not so much about the crowd, but the fact that it’s a real scrimmage, a real game-type play. You’ve got the clock working, you’ve got the 40-second clock working, you know, when you’re in the Trager Center, it’s more of a scrimmage. If we just the game on Saturday and the lightning comes like they told us it’s going to come, and all of a sudden we shut down the scrimmage and just go inside, then everybody’s energy would go down.”

—Saturday Blitz looks at the five biggest questions for Louisville heading into the spring game.

—Pro Football Weekly serves up a draft profile of Jaire Alexander.

—And finally, one final reminder that the spring game is tonight at 7:30 and not tomorrow. I guarantee there will be at least four people who show up to the stadium on Saturday confused as hell, and I don’t want any of those people to be you.

Parking lots open at 2:30. We’ll be out there from 3-6 doing the radio show.