The Cardinal Countdown: 13 Days Until Kickoff

2021 Season Recap: Young spent last year playing for Oldham County High School, and maybe cementing his name in the “northeastern Louisville” record books as one of the best to do it up there. Sam finished his high school career with over 7,000yds (bug eyes) and scored over 100 touchdowns either through the air or on the ground. Take a look at what the PWO brings to the team.

2022 Season Outlook: Sam will have an uphill climb to see the field anytime soon, but the local prospect has something special in his bag in case his number is called….family. Sam has a long list of names with folks that suited up for the red and black across all sports, over the last few decades and he calls them all his family. His grandfather played football (Gary Barnes), his grandmother played volleyball, his mom played soccer, and his dad played baseball. Maybe his brother can shoot the lights out for Kenny? Sam will have a shot to get some reps like everyone else but will likely be a scouting team player in near future.

Sweet Tweet:

This is gonna sound mean spirited, but I come from a place of love. EKU…whatchu’ doing, baby? I see ALOT of edits scrolling through twitter feeds all day every day for 100 days in the summer and this may be the worst one I’ve laid eyes on. The low-res helmet, the improperly sized beats, the hands cropped wrong…you can do better guys. Rumor is this is why Sam came to Louisville instead of EKU. I kid, I kid. It’s because his grandpa threatened him with violence.

*****

2021 Season Recap: Clark finished 2021 with second team All-ACC recognition, but if not for an ACL tear around mid-season he may have been a first team nod across the conference and getting some notice on the national level. Clark. Finished last year with 40 tackles, 4 TFLs, 3 interceptions, and 9 PBUs. While stat lines don’t always tell the story at the corner position it’s nice to see him active around the ball. There were noticeably times last year where teams avoided him because he was so locked in, and that forces throws and puts other defenders in better spots to make plays. His speed and footwork help, but his instincts are what make him a tough corner to go up against. When teams tried him, more times than not he made the play.

2022 Season Outlook: It wasn’t all puppy dogs and rainbows for Clark as he, along with nearly every other player in the secondary, had some bad tape to watch from last season as well. But as noted above, Clark was one of the few who I felt held his own significantly more than he got burnt or gave up a big play. The fun thing to watch this year, assuming he can stay healthy, is seeing how the offense decides to attack the secondary with some of their new additions. When flipping through the stats from last year to see where Clark ranked nationally it was funny how often I came across the name Quincy Riley for MTSU who had 5 INTs, 9 PBUs, and 14 passes defended himself. Spoiler Alert: That guy actually plays for Louisville now as well (Day 3) and will likely line up opposite Clark along with Chandler Jones and Trey Franklin. Having some depth will make life easier for everyone, including the All-American caliber Clark, who if he plays at that level all year could be a big reason this defense helps win ballgames.

Sweet Tweet:

My man has been counting down with us the whole way. It’s funny because I think I was doing that same workout back on July 18th...