The Cardinal Countdown: 5 Days Until Kickoff

#5 Seth Dawkins

Class: Junior

Ht/Wt: 6-3/218

Position: Wide Receiver

Hometown: Columbus, OH

Twitter: @dawkins5_

Thoughts: I think one thing that gets lost in the shuffle of Louisville’s ‘three-headed monster’ leading the wide receivers group is Seth’s meteoric rise last year from a nice rotation guy to someone who was a full blown threat every time he stepped on the field. Revisionist history says that everyone knew Seth Dawkins was prepared to blow up last year but in reality you had a Sophomore coming off a season where he caught 11 passes for 191 yards, and everyone just automatically expected him to slide into Staples role and go grab 40 balls. Sometimes these guys make us all like look geniuses….

Seth did exactly that. He came into 2017 hungry and ready to fill a void that had been left by Jamari on the outside, and not only did he match what Staples put up a year prior (36rec/615yds/2TD) he surpassed it, with 42 catches for 642 yards and four touchdown grabs. Including this beauty against ‘We finally won more than 8 games for the first time in 8 years pay attention us’ University a.k.a. NC State.

If some is good, more is better, and the expectations for Dawkins certainly aren’t shrinking. Take alook at any ACC preview or position group breakdown and Dawkins is right there next to Jaylen and Dez as certifiable threats in the Petrino offense. While I certainly won’t predict a production jump similar to that of 2017 don’t be shocked to see a couple guys out of that group of three catch 50+ balls, a feat the Cards haven’t seen since 2013.

Sweet Tweet:

What I’d also like to see more of is Seth “Chubbs” Dawkins drop some more man hands stiff arms on fools this year like he did North Carolina.

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#5 Robert Hicks

Class: Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-1/248

Position: Linebacker

Hometown: Miami, FL

Twitter: @1_JetSet

Thoughts: If you had to point to one guy on defense as “this year’s Dorian Etheridge” I think Robert Hicks gets the nod. The 6-1/248lb early enrollee stepped straight onto the Cards campus more or less right after he walked off the field from playing in the Under Armour All-American game in early January. Hicks, a consensus 4 star prospect who picked the Cards over Auburn, Miami, Michigan State, Oregon, and a host of others, showed he belonged from day one. Petrino was praising Hicks just a few days into camp for his attitude and athleticism and the other linebackers singled him out as the surprise player during the Spring. It’s not hard to see from the tape below that Hicks not only has “grown man size” but “grown man speed” to the ball…

The big question mark on Hicks, as with any true freshman, will be how well his football knowledge translates to the BVG schemes and defensive principles. If he doesn’t pick up the plays and doesn’t learn assignments he’ll never see the field no matter how talented he may be. The good news, though…everything I’ve watched and read from Fall camp says that Hicks is further along than they expected in many areas, meaning the likelihood of him seeing action this year is extremely high. As the icing on one the best recruiting classes the Cards have ever seen I’m really looking forward to seeing what Hicks can do the next two three years to get the defense back in a ‘championship caliber’ position.

Sweet Tweet:

Them epidurals ain’t no joke , man. He-He-He-Who..then push. #DadLife