The Cardinal Countdown: 17 Days Until Kickoff

#17 Jackson Hamilton

Class: Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-0/202

Position: Linebacker

Hometown: Woodstock, GA

Twitter: @Jackson_Ham1

Thoughts: While I’m sure there are quite a few ‘Hamilton’ jokes I could make right now I’ve never seen the musical so forgive my lack of puns in the intro. I’m more of a ‘Annie’ kind of guy myself (I think Jay-Z was in that one).

Hamilton comes to the Cards via Georgia and the staff fought off some big names along the way to get the ‘athlete’ who has some position flexibility on the defensive side of the ball. While many were looking at him to use his speed and length (I saw a post awhile back wher Keith Wynne said he had long arms and now I can only envision Inspector Gadget playing ‘Mike’ linebacker) to play outside Coach Brown has been giving him some reps inside as well, and gave Hamilton and Alderman (Day 24) some props as the young guys are playing really well in the fall.

Hamilton has speed for sure and although he is a bit undersized I like his aggressiveness. Ham Bone (don’t call him that) played a little running back in high school and I love that position combo of RB-LB. I think as a linebacker you can learn a lot playing the running back position about identifying gaps, reading the offensive line, etc. We’re top heavy on the inside this year but look for Hamilton to get some opportunities in the future.

Sweet Tweet:

“It’s ya boy….I’m ready to do big things up in here” is the same thing I tell my wife every night before she rolls over and goes to bed.

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#17 Nathan McElroy

Class: Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-2/195

Position: Quarterback

Hometown: Louisville, KY (Product of Trinity High School)

Twitter: @Natemac_5

Thoughts: If you live in the Louisville area and pay any attention to high school football, you are likely aware of Nathan McElroy. McElroy went from a high school sophomore who couldn’t see a live rep at QB to the starter of a local powerhouse his Junior and Senior seasons that just so happened to both end in state championships. Not too shabby.

Nathan, like many other preferred walk-ons, is in this spot because he has a great drive and passion to play the game. It doesn’t hurt that McElroy is also a long time Cards fan who is now living out his dream playing for UofL. Nathan, who had previously committed to play football for Butler until he found out Brad Stevens wasn’t coaching, can fling it for sure. In the clip below you can see some 35-40 yard dimes drop in the bucket and some nice across the body throws he puts on the numbers. He’s also get some mini-wheels on those cleats as he left a few guys in his wake on some rollouts. While the climb to any significant reps at QB is a steep one there is one thing we know for sure and that’s that McElroy is not scared of a little hard work. Glad to have him on the squad.

Sweet Tweet:

As a Chicago Bears fan I have a bit of PTSD from hearing the ball clang the post….but great throw from Nathan.