The Cardinal Countdown: 74 Days Until Kickoff

2021 Season Recap: Adonis had a very productive 2021 season, playing in twelve games and getting the start in nine of them. Boone was one of a handful of guys last year that made a position change, and because he stayed on the line I think it went unnoticed by many, but it was impressive none the less that he continued to perform at such a high level. On paper the change from left tackle to right guard may only seem like about……uhmmm, 8 feet and some change, but the responsibilities, the footwork, and the hand placement all get flipped on their head from what he was used to. Boone slid over to fill the void left by Cam DeGeorge in 2020 and fit in well with Renato over on the right side. Tip of the Satterfield visor to Boone on a job well done (there is a joke in here about Satterfield loving Boone because App State is in Boone, NC but I’ll leave it up to your imagination).

2022 Season Outlook: The more positions change, the more they stay the same. Boone slid in last year, played well, and will look to reprise his role in the sequel known as “The 2022 Louisville Football season” (working title) as “right guard”, with costar Renato Brown. Boone came into the program nearly five years ago pushing “three hunit” on the scales and had added another 20lbs the last few years to really make himself a force to move around in the trenches, but it had some tradeoffs. While we covered this in more detail early in the Satt era, what he asks of the lineman in the offense is typically not just plant your feet and block but get out on the edges and go find someone downfield. Hauling 317 five to eight yards downfield consistently each play, in both directions, is not an easy ask, and it’s something I noticed last year that Boone did struggle with at times. He was an immovable force quite often, which is a great descriptor of an offensive lineman but I have to think the staff is looking for more from him than just being a big body and wants some more mobility at the position. So while it’s all “unofficial” I did find it interesting that Boone was back down to around 300lb on the roster as of today. Dropping that extra weight, I believe, will actually help him up front this year.

Sweet Tweet:

My man A Boone looks like he’s out on the numbers about a to run a 10 yard post on your baby DB and then flex on him after he drags him for another five after the catch.