Monday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—TuTu Atwell is No. 152 on CBS’ NFL Draft big board.

—The Louisville field hockey team will be the No. 3 overall seed for the 2021 NCAA tournament. The Cards have a first round bye and will face either UConn or Rider on Friday.

—Dez Fitzpatrick draft tape:

—Former Cardinal Corey Ray made his Major League Debut for the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. Louisville has now had 18 former players make The Show since 2014. That’s the most of any program in the country.

—New U of L QB commit Khalib Johnson talks with Dave Lackford of Rivals about why he picked the Cards.

“Louisville is actually my dream school! I grew up a Louisville basketball and football fan since I was 8 years of age! Not to mention my uncle Broderick Clark played wide receiver there,” said Johnson.

Over the past three months, the relationship between him, quarterbacks coach Pete Thomas, and the rest of the staff has solidified to the extent they felt comfortable telling him that he was their quarterback of the future.

“Coach Pete Thomas and I built a great relationship since the start of my recruitment process. I love his passion for the game and the fact he’s a family-oriented guy. I also love the tradition of the program. I feel I can be successful in the offense it fits me well. I want to be the next great QB to come from Louisville. So overall, the staff and the tradition of this program played a major impact on my decision,” said Johnson.

Broderick Clark’s nephew? I love it.

—The latest Cardinal Authority podcast focuses on the commitment of Johnson.

—If you’ve ever wondered whether or not Kentucky fans would publicly burn couches after winning a national title in volleyball, this weekend provided your answer.

—Tori Kelly will sing the National Anthem at the Kentucky Derby this year. I don’t know who that is, but I also don’t know 65 percent of the people making popular music today, because I am old as shit.

—Louisville remains at No. 7 in the D1Baseball top 25 for this week.

—Oaks post positions, featuring a favorable draw for likely post time favorite Malathaat.

—The CJ has a rundown of all 14 Oaks contenders.

—Here’s the local write-up on Khalib Johnson’s Cardinal commitment.

—Hoops Insight has an in-depth look at three of the players Louisville could target to replace Carlik Jones.

While over 1,400 players have entered the transfer portal, there aren’t a lot of players who have a high chance of jumping in as the lead playmaker for a team with designs on contending for an ACC title. Among the top uncommitted players are a lot of wings and combo guards, but not many true standout playmakers. One of the top players in the portal is Minnesota’s Marcus Carr; he’s definitely a proven playmaker, but is testing the NBA Draft and seems unlikely to consider Louisville as his next destination.

I’d characterize Louisville’s need as follows:

-Guard with experience as lead ballhandler, playmaker, and potentially scorer

-Strong outside shooting not necessary but a plus

-Needs to be able to penetrate defense

-Needs solid assist/turnover ratio

-Needs to project as capable of being lead guard in ACC

-Preferable to have mutliple years of eligiblity remaining (so we don’t have to do this again next season)

Among the options in the portal, I want to focus on 3 who I think could potentially fit the bill: Coastal Carolina’s Devante Jones, Portland’s Ahmed Ali, and Georgia’s Sahvir Wheeler.

—It’s that time of the year again. If you have a funny story about getting home from the Derby or getting lost at the Derby, I want to hear it.

Send to MikeRuth5@aol.com. All posts will remain anonymous, unless specified.

—You can never see too many angles of this play.

—U of L lacrosse ended its regular season with a road loss to No. 5 Notre Dame.

—The Come Back Inn has had enough of the bullshit.

CBI has the full support of CC.

—Louisville Report looks at what new Southern Miss DL transfer Jacques Turner is bringing to the Cards.

—Josh Nickelberry is headed to La Salle.

—247 Sports looks at one make or break factor for each football team in the ACC.

LOUISVILLE: MALIK CUNNINGHAM

247Sports’ Take: Malik Cunningham has flashed in spots as Louisville’s quarterback for the past three years, but a next-level progression is needed if the Cardinals collectively want to take a step toward ACC contention. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder was a 64% passer (195 of 304) with 2,617 yards and 20 touchdowns to 12 interceptions over 11 games in 2020. The previous year, Cunningham posted a 63% completion rate (112 of 179) while throwing for 2,065 yards and 22 touchdowns to five interceptions. As a runner, Cunningham has been electric, keeping 332 times for 1,588 yards (4.8 average) and 18 touchdowns in 33 games from 2018-20.

“That’s something I’ve been waking up every day, telling myself, ‘I can’t turn the ball over me,’” Cunningham said Feb. 23. “You can’t go out there scared playing not to turn the ball over. That’s how turnovers happen. But just not forcing anything and just trusting in my O-line and the receivers that they’re going to be where I need them to be. And, my job to delivering the ball and that’s what I’ve been doing, up to this point.”

—TuTu Atwell has been drawing some comparisons to Ravens WR Hollywood Brown.

—U of L catcher Henry Davis has been especially locked in recently.

—Going great!

—The U of L men’s golf team finished ninth at the ACC Championships.

—Homefield Apparel now has a Dunking Big Red t-shirt. Just sayin’.

—And finally, join me in wishing a very happy birthday to our own Keith Wynne. He’s an awesome friend, one of the most knowledgeable and passionate U of L fans you’ll ever meet, and this site would have been lost without him over the last decade.