The Cardinal Countdown: 55 Days Until Kickoff

#55 Micah Bland

Class: Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-2/299

Position: Defensive Line

Hometown: Louisville, KY (Product of Male High School)

Twitter: @blandmicah

Thoughts: Micah was a local product out of Male High School who actually graduated back in 2017 but took the Prep School route to get his grades in check and to prepare for D-I ball. After attending Midwest Prep Academy Micah joined the Cards last season to add some depth on a defensive line that would be losing a couple bodies due to graduation. In addition to the normal attrition that any team experiences the Cards also lost a couple guys to the transfer portal this past year which means the competition will be legit in the fall to get on that two deep.

Micah is every bit of the 299 he is listed at, watching his prep tape you can see how he uses his physicality and size to overpower the offensive lineman. While we didn’t see Micah last year I think he’ll get a shot to get some PT in 2019. Someone with that size isn’t a horrible option at nose tackle but like I discussed back on Day 94, in order to play that spot you have to be more than just a big body.

Check out Micah here manhandling these poor kids like my daughter treats her Barbies.

Sweet Tweet:

Is this a subtle jab that me and Rutherford should move on from our AOL email addresses? I’m just saying, I got a new disc in the mail last week with like 500 free hours of internet use. If it’s good enough for Tom Hanks it’s good enough for me. Hit me up with that A/S/L in the chat.

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#55 Caleb Chandler

Class: RS Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-4/297

Position: Offensive Line

Hometown: Jefferson, GA

Twitter: @DayBoyCC

Thoughts: Once the 2018 season turned into “watching to see improvement” instead looking for actual wins there were a handful of players that started to step up and play well as the win-loss column continued to tilt in the wrong direction. One of those guys was Caleb Chandler.

Chandler was a four star tackle out of high school and nice pickup for Petrino a couple seasons back. Chandler took at redshirt in 2016 and then saw limited time in 2017 but took advantage of some sketchy play up front and actually earned a few starts last year against Clemson, Syracuse, and NC State. In total Chandler played in six games but really saw his production increase at the end of the season.

Chandler got his first start against a little team out of Clemson, South Carolina and actually held his own for the most part against what was arguably the best defensive line in the country last season. In the clip below, with the Cards down 50-60 points, you can see Chandler (#61) pull from the right guard position and seal the edge so Wilson could pick up five easy ones off to the right.

In going back and watching the majority of this game over again I saw plenty from Chandler that made me look forward to the future, including what happened after the whistle when he made an effort to go help Pass off the ground, or help the running back up after a tackle 5-6 yards off the LOS. Those things matter, and they certainly resonate with me moving forward. I think Chandler and Boone battle it out for a spot up front Week 1. He has the size to compete at this level and Ledford will help mold him into a solid player, potentially sliding into a full time starter by the time we kick this thing off.

Sweet Tweet:

I’m about this close to buying a big boulder and putting it in my backyard. Imagine how fun it would be to relieve some stress by whacking that thing a few times every night. Now I just need to convince Mrs. CS that’s a good idea.