The Cardinal Countdown: 12 Days Until Kickoff

#12 T.J. Lewis

Class: Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-3/170

Position: Quarterback -ish

Hometown: Brunswick, GA

Twitter:@__TjLewis

Thoughts: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…high school quarterback comes to Louisville looking to compete for a shot at the job. Doesn’t win the position but shows enough raw talent they want him on the field, finds a spot, becomes a star. Marcus Smith, Reggie Bonnafon, Michael Bush, Tutu Atwell…TJ Lewis? The athlete from Brunswick hopes to join that list.

TJ was recruited by Louisville to come in and get a chance at quarterback. Lewis was a three time team captain who stacked up yardage at the signal caller position for Glynn Academy, it just so happens that this “dual-threat” was a little lite on the “dual-ing”, heavily relying upon his legs to get the job done. The run-pass split wasn’t quite Satterfield levels, but Lewis knew he could make plays and amassed over 4,000 yards during high school with nearly 50% of those coming on the ground. In the clip below you can see he’s not walking around with a wet noodle for an arm by any means, but his agility was a big problem for defenses.

Earlier this week Satterfield made the announcement that for the time being TJ would start practicing with the wide receivers. Dos that mean he’s officially out as a quarterback forever? No. But in 2021 he is not likely to see reps at that spot, and getting him on the field at wideout is a benefit to the team and his goal personally to come in and make an impact. With the wideout room still open and accepting applications for guys to “step it up”, Lewis hopes to fill that position with a sold interview in the coming weeks.

Sweet Tweet:

I misread the quote from the staff about getting 1% better each day…I thought it said 1% “bigger”. I’m like 150% of my former self….don't mind me, just out here crushing it.

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#12 Qwynnterrio Cole

Class: Senior

Ht/Wt: 6-3/190

Position: Defensive Back

Hometown: Memphis, TN

Twitter: @Q_COLEtv

Thoughts: One area the Cards absolutely needed to add bodies was the secondary. Not only did they lose Russ and Isiah Hayes but they also lost Lovie Jenkins and Jack Fagot switched positions down to linebacker. For those keeping track at home that was pretty much the two deep back in 2020. So the staff was either going to rely heavily on incoming freshman or hit the portal hard. They did both.

Back in May Louisville got a commit from Qwynnterrio (two n’s, two r’s, one bad mamajammer) who spent a few seasons playing for Alcorn State at both corner and safety. Cole was known for his high football IQ and the ability to create disruption. While the ‘Braves’ didn’t play in 2020 Cole stacked up turnovers in 2019 like he was hoarding them for the missed season. Five interceptions, a forced fumble…and he tossed in 86 tackles for good measure. Cole was a beast on the field and off the field he is being called some complimentary things that also make me slightly uncomfortable. I think Satt called him “bricked up” last week, Bown said he was “chiseled” and a draft expect stated something about his “beautiful body structure”. It’s 2021 guys, we can’t be out here talking like this….but dude is jacked for sure.

Cole and freshman Ben Perry are battling it out for the SS spot but I think Cole may sneak in based on his experience. They’ll split time for sure but look for Cole to make some big plays back there when he’s on the field. No disrespect to the group back there last year but the Cole/Perry combo is an upgrade for sure.

Sweet Tweet:

This horse picked up the ride this horse was looking for earlier this week. Work smarter not harder, boss.