The Cardinal Countdown: 77 Days Until Kickoff

#77 Linwood Foy

Class: RS Senior

Ht/Wt: 6-4/299

Position: Offensive Line

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Twitter: @LinwoodFoy_3

Thoughts: A couple seasons ago when the Cards grabbed Foy out of College of the Canyons (Santa Clarita, CA) I viewed him as a band-aid fix to the line issues the staff had identified the season before in 2015. A late addition to the 2016 class Foy was going to provide some much needed help to a group who had been struggling to find its rhythm. Unfortunately, four games into the season Foy went down with an injury that would keep him out the remainder of 2016. After fighting to get back on the field in 2017 Foy made five appearances last year, getting some early run in the non-conference but then filling in well late in the season when the all the dings, nicks, and scratches of the season along the line started adding up. Petrino and Summers gave him a head nod so to speak for his efforts but it appears six months into 2018, Foy is looking for more…

One of the bigger surprises out of Spring ball was the staff’s praise of Linwood and the energy he was bringing daily. I think most have a starting offensive line already jotted down in pen with the chance for some late movement, but Foy was not in that conversation, not until April at least. Filling in mostly for the departed Geron Christian at tackle, next to Kenny Thomas, Foy was specifically brought up by Petrino and Coach Summers on multiple occasions, including winning their daily ‘Offensive Grinder’ award twice in the span of five days. He even got a Bleacher Report shoutout as an “all-spring” player nationally. I know we’ve seen it before, a Spring ball hero who fades in the Fall, but it sounds as if Foy has a fire underneath him and he’s looking to prove he belongs up front in his final year. We’ve still got a long time before we kick this season off (I’d guess somewhere around 77 days) but something tells me Foy won’t be one of the guys who fades in the summer. With a chip on his shoulder and something to prove I think “fifth year Foy” is a player who turns some heads in 2018.

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Game 3: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Key Player: Drew Eckels, Quarterback, RS Junior

With the departure of Mike White to the NFL the Hilltoppers are looking for a new signal caller, and at this point in time Drew Eckels appears to be that man. Eckels backed up White last season and is the best fit in the pro-style offense WKU ran last season. Some eyebrows have been raised with the play of RS Freshman Davis Shanley who is more of a dual-threat option but I think Eckels gets the nod early as he has more experience and knows the offense well. Assuming he holds the job Eckels will be the one trying to attack a Cardinal defense that will have gone through quite the rollercoaster ride the first two games. After getting tested by the consensus #1 team in the country week 1 they will get a significantly lighter challenge against ISU the following week. I think Week 3 will be a litmus test of sorts to see how conference play will go. If Eckels has success against the Cards D (win or lose) we can likely expect a few of the ACC QBs to do the same.

Sweet Tweet:

In the eyes of a guy who ‘counts down’ each individual day for the better part of the year I’m on board with the one day at a time approach. For the guy building bridges or designing the next skyscraper…I’m cool with a little foresight. Maybe skip ahead a day or two, ya know.