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—According to Jon Rothstein, Minnesota transfer Marcus Carr’s plan is to visit Louisville following his visit to Texas this week. There is no set date for the visit to U of L. Just need to get him out of Austin without making a commitment.
—Day two of the MLB Draft saw Alex Binelas (86th overall to the Brewers), Cooper Bowman (122nd overall to the Yankees), and Michael Kirian (173rd overall to the Nationals) hear their names called.
—Louisville signee and Trinity High star Daylen Lile was drafted 47th overall by the Washington Nationals on Monday afternoon. My hunch that we never see the young man suit up for Dan McDonnell, but crazier things have happened.
—The Henry Davis love is already strong in Pittsburgh.
"Nobody does anything special alone."
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 11, 2021
We can already tell we're going to love this guy. pic.twitter.com/yKA2vSP7Ea
Ben's fired up.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 12, 2021
We're all fired up. pic.twitter.com/Hcab9v249p
—A panel of 21 college football reporters for 247 Sports project Louisville to finish fifth in the ACC’s Atlantic Division this season.
—A Clemson QB commit has opted to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates instead.
—Les Miles and Kansas remain gross as hell.
—Congrats to Jordan Nwora on becoming the first former Louisville player in almost two decades (Samaki Walker in 2002) to score in an NBA Finals game.
Don't forget @JordanNwora's first #NBAFinals bucket. pic.twitter.com/L4YBaJFPxu
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 12, 2021
—Good video here on how college athletes fit into the creator economy in the new NIL world.
—Season tickets for the 2021-22 U of L women’s basketball campaign are now on sale.
—These videos continue to be awesome, and it was great to hear from Matt Cross and to hear more from Kahil Fennell. Both come off very impressive here.
: Episode III
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) July 11, 2021
The Greatest once said “(Champions) have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” pic.twitter.com/5JjWTGyG0F
—The Derby City Dynamite, Louisville’s professional women’s football team, is headed to the national championship game.
—Pro Football Network has Jaire Alexander at No. 1 and Lamar Jackson at No. 3 in its ranking of the 15 best NFL players under the age of 25.
—Pro Football Focus ranks all 130 starting FBS quarterbacks, and has Malik Cunningham at No. 34.
34. LOUISVILLE: MALIK CUNNINGHAM
Cunningham is one of the most dangerous rushing threats at the quarterback position. He picked up a gain of 10 or more yards on 38.1% of his attempts in 2020, whether it be designed runs or scrambles. Not only did that lead all FBS quarterbacks, but it topped the list by over five percentage points.
Cunningham still has room to grow as a passer. He needs to take much better care of the ball in 2021 than he did last season after making multiple turnover-worthy plays in seven of his 11 starts. In all, he earned just a 69.0 passing grade for the season.
—The relationship between the U of L men’s basketball staff and 2023 four-star guard Lawrent Rice continues to strengthen.
—Over the weekend, DeVante Parker hosted a camp in Louisville for the first time.
—Even though Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio referred to Lamar Jackson playing some pickup football with kids as “an unnecessary risk,” Lamar is never going to stop being Lamar.
Nothing but GREAT VIBES with Lamar Jackson yesterday @Lj_era8 pic.twitter.com/oXVET6dhzU
— Overtime (@overtime) July 12, 2021
—U of L swimming star Nicolas Albiero is returning for a “super senior” season.
—Henry Davis knew he was going No. 1 before the MLB draft got started on Sunday. He didn’t tell anybody, but Dan McDonnell sensed something.
—A survey of 50 NFL executives, coaches, scouts and players left Lamar Jackson ranked as the 8th-best QB in the league.
8. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Highest ranking: 5 | Lowest ranking: Unranked
Age: 24 | Last year’s ranking: 6
Still the toughest evaluation on the list, Jackson earned more top-five votes than Prescott and Stafford combined, yet many left him off the ballot altogether. He remains one of the game’s most breathtaking playmakers, and his intangibles as a tough, vocal, team-first leader resonate.
But since entering the NFL in 2018, Jackson has thrown for fewer than 200 yards in 22 of his 37 starts, the most in the NFL during that span. The next closest is Sam Darnold with 19.
“People are figuring him out a little bit,” said a veteran NFL offensive player. “Those guys on the list, in the two-minute drill, they can go do it. Not sure he’s there yet. The running is great, but when you have to play from behind and throw, that can be very tough.”
Many believe those issues aren’t all on Jackson. The offense must change to help him evolve, one NFL quarterback said.
“He can become a better passer if they put more on him to do so,” the quarterback said. “But if they continue to build a fence around him that’s RPO gimmick type of stuff only utilizing his running skills, I think they will never score enough to make a deep run.”
An AFC scout said Baltimore had failed in the past to surround Jackson with the same arsenal that in-his-prime Colin Kaepernick got in San Francisco. That mobile quarterback who was also coached by coordinator Greg Roman had Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, Delanie Walker and Vernon Davis.
“[Jackson] might not be that accurate, down-in, down-out passer, but you can tailor things around him and he can have more success in that area,” the scout said. “It’s not like he can’t make the throws. He can.”
—Trey Sweeney, an Eastern Illinois shortstop who played his high school ball at St. X, was taken by the New York Yankees with the 20th overall pick of the MLB draft.
—Tomahawk Nation (Florida State) serve up its Louisville football preview.
—Reid Detmers: Still filthy. Also soon to be filthy at the Major League level.
Former Louisville pitcher Reid Detmers made his appearance in the MLB All-Star Futures Game count, striking out both batters he faced. pic.twitter.com/XrMDGN36vt
— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) July 11, 2021
—It appears Malik Cunningham, Marshon Ford and C.J. Avery will be Louisville’s player representatives at ACC Media Day later this month.
—The Ole Miss 247 site takes an early look at the Cards.
—And finally, the CJ lays out everything we know about the 2021-22 U of L men’s basketball schedule so far.