The Cardinal Countdown: 36 Days Until Kickoff

#36 Maurice Burkley

Class: RS Senior

Ht/Wt: 6-0/210

Position: Running Back

Hometown: Naperville, IL

Twitter: @ball_is_life1_

Thoughts: If you remember, Burkley was one of the three walk-ons who earned a scholly before the season began last year and it mostly came due to his talent and knowledge in the third phase of the game, special teams.

Burkley has been limited out of the backfield, only grabbing 8 attempts last season, but he is extremely active on special teams where I’ve seen him line up as a wedge buster on punt return, flanking the outside on PATs, and even joining in on kickoffs and kickoff returns, taking one back for 20 yards last year against the Cats. (Bonus coverage of Hassan Hall coming down from up top and committing attempted murder)

Since the running back room is a bit crowded and very talented, I can’t envision Burkley stacking up a significant amount of carries in 2020 but the Cards absolutely need his athleticism on special teams once again. It may go unnoticed or underappreciated in most areas, but not on this countdown, Burk. We see you.

Sweet Tweet:

I appreciate the sentiment….unrelated, I see an undefeated 2020 season in our future.

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#36 Arthur Veal

Class: RS Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-0/208

Position: Defensive Back

Hometown: South Holland, IL

Twitter: @A_V_5

Thoughts: Arthur Veal came to the Cards last year out of South Holland, IL which is about a 25 minute ride to Soldier Field and 45 minutes to Wrigley if you’re ever in the area. Arthur was a “four tool” player back in high school as he could run, catch, block, and tackle. He was a top 100 prospect in Illinois playing for Brother Rice (a minister with love for the grains) High School. Check him out below:

IF you check out the roster and depth at the position I don’t foresee Arthur getting any major reps this year…

…but I do see him continuing to contribute on the practice squad and providing some relief at DB. As of right now Louisville only has 11 DB/CB on the roster and that includes guys like Yeast, Fagot, and Hayes who will play safety predominantly. I mentioned it a couple days ago but of those eleven players seven of them are upperclassmen, which mean guys like Arthur, Vance, Starks, etc will be getting a shot soon enough.

Sweet Tweet:

Spot the lie. While I don’t turn down purchased KFC from others because I am a class gentleman who shows respect, they have not received a penny from my wallet in quite some time. Way too many other options that are better. #RIPColonel

(P.S. Happy Anniversary to Mrs. CardinalStrong. She’ll never read this so it doesn’t matter what I say here but I’ll go ahead and be honest with you all...she’s pretty awesome)