The Cardinal Countdown: 87 Days Until Kickoff

#87 Tyler Harrell

Class: RS Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-0/194

Position: Wide Receiver

Hometown: Miami, FL

Twitter: @EasyMoneyTy_

Thoughts: Harrell was brought into the program under the ‘Speed City’ initiative back in 2018. That first season in the program he got a few opportunities at wideout and on the return team. I showed off some of his speed on last years post and there is little question that the man has boosters. Going back and watching some of his high school highlights made me drop one or two of these on a random Wednesday night…

When the topic of speed is brought up many on the team had Tyler and Tutu as their #1 and #2 options as “fastest on the team”, and we know the burners Atwell has, so why has the play from Harrell been limited thus far? The easy answer is depth. When Harrell came in Louisville had…17 WIDE RECEIVERS on the roster, and Bobby was looking to get anyone and everyone on the field to help a sputtering offense. Last year the staff helped balance things some and only had 13 wideouts listed, but of those 13 guys seven players are listed at 6’0” or shorter (i.e. typical slot guys) and its difficult to get Tutu off the field.

The wideout position has been slimmed down slightly again in 2020 (12 on roster) and if I had to guess I’d say Harrell is still on the outside looking in for significant reps at that spot, especially with the addition of Braden Smith who plays a similar role. But, I wouldn’t rule out Harrell maybe getting some reps on the outside or in a four wide formation. I also see Tyler as a nice weapon on special teams that the staff may flirt with some during the year. Not having Spring ball its difficult to see progression and where the coaches are looking to fit guys in with limited reps in 2019. I’ll be interested in seeing where the speedster lands in 2020, preparing for I think is a larger role in 2021 with multiple departures at this position.

Sweet Tweet:

My man Tyler has a couple cameos in the ‘We Going Bowling’ video below but I’d think everyone here is a bit partial to his appearance around the 11 second mark…CC mask well represented.