Monday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—D1Baseball.com names Louisville catcher Henry Davis as a Second Team All-American.

—The Courier Journal highlights some key Louisville football players to keep an eye on this fall.

—Athlon ranks all 130 teams in college football for 2021 and has Louisville at No. 47.

47. Louisville

The Cardinals slipped to 4-7 in coach Scott Satterfield’s second year, but a look at the numbers shows this team was hit by some bad fortune. Louisville ranked 14th in the ACC with an unlucky minus-12 turnover margin, struggled with field position and lost four games by seven points or less.

Offensive Strength: The Cardinals ranked fourth in the ACC with an average of 6.65 yards per play last year. If quarterback Malik Cunningham can return to his 2019 form, this offense should easily improve on the scoreboard (29.5 ppg). The offensive line is promising, and tight end Marshon Ford should be a preseason All-ACC pick.

Offensive Concern: Cunningham’s numbers regressed and his interceptions increased last year. Getting the junior back on track is a must. How will Satterfield replace two key receivers – Tutu Atwell and Dez Fitzpatrick – and running back Javian Hawkins?

Defensive Strength: Louisville’s defense was trending in the right direction in the second half of last season. After giving up 6.5 yards per play against ACC opponents in 2019, this defense cut that total to 5.9 last fall. Each level of the defense returns solid pieces to build around in ’21. Cornerback Kei’Trel Clark is underrated.

Defensive Concern: Can coordinator Bryan Brown continue to bring improvement to this group in 2021? Improving against the run (179.9 ypg allowed last year) is a must. Louisville also needs to generate more of a pass rush.

—U of L QB commit Khalib Johnson had a great weekend workout at U of L.

—Louisville is in the top six for class of 2022 guard Rodney Rice, who visited the U of L campus last week.

—Bats getting a little bit of “national” love here.

—Florida offensive lineman Bradley Mann was blown away by his visit to U of L.

—Louisville Report updates its basketball recruiting big board for the class of 2022.

—U of L lacrosse has added former Canisius head coach Allison Daley to the staff as an assistant coach.

—It appears as though Tae Davis is going to be a problem.

—The very first DeVante Parker Football Camp will be held at Seneca High School on July 10. More details here.

—Louisville will host recent Kansas decommit Sydney Curry for an official visit this weekend. The 6’8, 260-pound power forward is out of John Logan, the same junior college where former Cardinal signee and current Los Angeles Clipper Jay Scrubb players.

—Like everyone else, college basketball coaches have no idea how the hell the new NIL stuff is going to work.

“There’s a sense of, ‘How the hell is this going to work?’” UConn coach Danny Hurley told Yahoo Sports. “What exactly is going to happen? Am I going to drive by a car dealership seeing one of the players do a signing? What is going on here?”

...

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said that he sent an email to athletic director Jack Swarbrick last week asking for bullet points on what he should and shouldn’t be saying to parents and recruits about the potential benefits of NIL.

Brey said that Swarbrick and Notre Dame are bullish on NIL and have plans to be aggressive and “go for it” in how their players could benefit from NIL. But ambiguity remains, in part because schools can bring in outside firms to help players but can’t directly help athletes cut deals.

“Between what’s going on with the FBI investigation and all the stuff that’s been the circus of college basketball, isn’t it almost predictable?” Brey said of the lack of clarity. “Everyone is looking around for some coaching, and no one can really coach us.”

...

As the games rolled on, the uncertainty only increased.

“I wish I knew what was happening,” Penn coach Steve Donahue said. “There’s no game plan.”

—College basketball coaches serve up (Athletic link) some summer reading suggestions.

—Chris Mack and his staff are back on the road recruiting this week.

—Avyonne Jones, a three-star corner out of Texas who had been scheduled to visit Louisville, has committed to Wisconsin.

—Football season essentials.

—Chip Patterson of CBS predicts a 7-5 season for Louisville football that ends with a win over Kentucky in Lexington.

—Former Manual High cross country star Yared Nuguse has qualified for the Olympics.

—Pro Football Focus ranks the top 50 players in the NFL right now. They have Jaire Alexander at No. 50, but don’t put Lamar anywhere in their rankings.

14. CB JAIRE ALEXANDER, GREEN BAY PACKERS

Alexander was the best cornerback in the NFL last season. He surrendered 20 or fewer yards in coverage 11 times during the season, including the playoffs, and he was beaten for a passer rating of just 54.3 on the year. Alexander also ran a gauntlet of some elite receivers and still earned the highest PFF coverage grade in the NFL. The only game in which he allowed more than four catches came against Chicago in Week 12, when Mitchell Trubisky dropped back to pass 50 times and Alexander was targeted 10 times, allowing five catches for just 47 yards.

—There was a very cool moment before the start of the Louisville Bats game on Sunday.

—Racing Louisville rolled to a 3-0 blowout win over Chicago on Saturday.

—Lou City played Indy Eleven to a 3-3 draw.

—And finally, Cardinal Authority’s Jody Demling has a wrap-up of Louisville football’s elite camp.