LB Coach (also Def Coordinator): Brent Guy

Previous 8 years coaching experience: HC, Utah State ('05-'08); DC, Arizona State ('01-'04)

Its no secret that Defense has been an achilles heel for the Cards over the past few seasons. As Defensive Coordinator, Ron English made noticeable improvements in recruiting and on the field during his one year stint last season before moving on to take the head coaching job at Eastern Michigan. Since then, another DC was hired...and then he transferred before anyone knew his name. The new DC and fourth man to fill the position in 14 months time, Brent Guy, has experience coaching teams with high-powered offenses and so-so defenses, including stops at Boise State and Utah State. If you glaze past his Kragthorpe-esque tenure as HC of Utah State, Guy has had some prior success as DC at Arizona State, where he coached now-Baltimore Ravens DE Terrell Suggs. Hopefully, he's returning to his niche in Defense and we'll see some progress in the development of promising prospects such as MLB Mike Privott, OLB Jacob Geffard and OLB Horace Miller. Guy's biggest win so far was witnessing new Secondary Coach, Larry Slade, successfully woo Miller away from UNLV and convincing Privott to honor his commitment to UL after English bailed. Hey, we'll take wins where we can find 'em...Moral victories--It's happening here.

*** #51 MLB Mike Privott (5' 10", 230) Lake Taylor HS; Norfolk, VA

Favorite Player: Ray Lewis

Why he signed: Ron English, Trager Center (facilities) and opportunity to get some PT his freshman year. Privott was recruited by English and after he left, those close to the program, including Jody Demling, thought Privott was gone. But credit Slade for closing the deal.

The skinny on Privott is that he's a gamer who makes up for lack of size with long arms, quick feet and a nose for the football. Undersized at 5'10", the freshman must prove himself through adaptability, agressiveness & energy in practice to get a shot at playing time this year...but that's not completely out of the question, especially if the injury bug hits the LB core. He played in a 3-4 scheme in HS but will likely be listed as a Middle or "Mike" LB in UL's 4-3 scheme. Like most recruits, he's going from being the Big Man On Campus to being buried on the depth chart...if he eagerly accepts his role and learns the 4-3 system, he has the potential to be one of UL's top 3 recruits in the 09 class.

Tip of the hat: Shannon at Cardinal Dominance, Jody Demling, Scout.com, Rivals.com, and Google

** #33 OLB Horace Miller (6'1", 207) Dunbar HS, Baltimore, MD

Best Known For: Setting a Maryland state record by recording 29 sacks his Senior year

Hates: Halftime; Miller: "Why do we need a break? I just want to keep playing."

Why He Signed: Larry Slade and opportunity for early PT

Miller joining UL's 09 recruiting class was a suprise, according to Jody Demling, who announced Miller's decision to sign with Louisville back in late January after Miller originally committed to UNLV a month prior. Miller is accustomed to winning--he led a defense that won 3 consecutive Maryland state champsionships, racking up 46 sacks and 223 tackes over his last 2 years as a starting LB. He also holds the 2nd highest SPARQ rating ever recorded, a Nike-sponsored event that tests explosiveness, leaping and power.

Though only a 2-star recruit, many people are high on Miller's HS success and ability to compete at the college level. Louisville's starting LB core is fairly cemented this year but with injuries, Miller could find himself fighting for 2nd or 3rd on the depth chart and I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting by the end of his Sophmore year. If Louisville experiences another mediocre season as most have predicted, Miller will need to maintain his focus and attitude after enjoying so much success in high school.

Horace Miller, Dunbar junior highlights (via mloveday5)

Tip of the Hat: Rivals.com, Jody Demling, Google
 

*** #13 OLB Jacob Geffard (6' 3" 186) Northeast HS; Oakland Park, FL

Hates: That his name is misspelled on the uoflsports.com team roster

Geffard was recruited/signed by former short-timer DC Bill Miller, which is a pretty impressive feat, especially after he received offers from Minnesota and Iowa State. He's tall and lean, runs a 4.5 40 and probably needs to gain some weight to make an impact as a Linebacker on this team (he's 20 lbs lighter than the next lightest Cardinal LB). He mostly played Strong Safety in HS but is rated 60th at his projected position at UL, Weakside or "Will" Linebacker. He won something called "The Punisher" award his last 2 seasons in HS, so I guess we can expect copious amounts of ass-kicking, explosions and wild turkey consumption. He'll be joining his twin brother, Isaac, a Safety, who was also signed by the Cardinals in this year's class. Juding by the photo above, this guy's in shape and won't be last during suicides at practice.

Tip of the Hat: UofLsports.com, Jody Demling, Rivals.com, Google

*** denotes 3-star recruit

** denotes 2-star recruit

Through his first week as a member of the USA Baseball National Team, University of Louisville right-handed pitcher Tony Zych has not allowed an earned run in his two appearances on the mound and has seven total strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work overall.

It took a while, but Josh Milhollin can now take a nice, long breath. After going to camps and working hard in the off-season, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound quarterback from South Medford High School in Medford, Ore. was rewarded with his first scholarship offer, from Portland State University, Scout.com learned Thursday night.

Trinity Valley College has plenty of skill position players that are getting D-1 attention and WR Jeremy Rouse (5-11, 175) is one that already has three offers to his name. JCFootball.com caught up with the speedy wideout and he updated us on things including what originally led him from the Sunshine State to TVC in the first place...

There are a few subtle changes near the top of the current Scout.com Top 100. Harrison Barnes locked up the No. 1 spot but Brandon Knight is on his heels. The big mover was the fabulous one -- Mr. Fab Melo -- into the No. 5 position.

Walton HS (GA) Quarterback Joey Windler is right in the middle of the summer circuit, seeking to grab the attention of potential suitors. If his performance at Appalachian State is any indication, the explosive signal caller could be well on his way. Scout caught up with Windler for a recap and an update.

We recently caught up with Angel Nunez to discuss his impressive spring and the recently developments in his recruitment.

Standout offensive line prospect Denton Simek (pronounced Shimick) of Prague, Okla., is putting in the work this summer. He's spent a number of days recently cutting and hauling hay and wheat. We caught him riding back from doing more work at the family farm.

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Louisville Football: How About Some Reality

By Sonja Sykes

Any fan who doesn’t think Tom Jurich is painfully aware of the slip, slide and fall of University of Louisville football over the last two seasons is not giving him enough credit for realizing there is a problem.

The point is…what good would firing Kragthorpe right now accomplish? What recruits we do have coming in would bail faster than a Justin Marks fastball.

The old adage … give someone enough rope and they’ll eventually hang themselves comes to mind here.  One more season of declining football and Tom will most likely make the proper move. But, if for some reason, we do improve…say a 7-5 or 8-4 season (I know…sounds impossible, but play along with me here) then it’s a scenario where he just might be headed in the right direction.

Bottom line is this: We gave Ron Cooper three years, it took Howard Schnellenberger three years to get things righted and Krags will get his third year. My guess is that if we go 3-9 or 4-8, Krags will resign. Even a 5-7 or 6-6 may get him out of here. But, don’t look for it to happen until the season is over.

In the meantime, cheer for the players. It’s not like they want to be .500 or worse.

The University of Louisville's football games at Connecticut on Oct.17 and at home against Syracuse on Nov.14 will be televised live locally at noon on WHAS-11 after each was selected as the Big East Game of the Week.

Doug Rigg has six scholarship offers and is considering all of his options right now, but he will definitely be taking visits to the state of Florida over the next few months. He likes the Big Ten and will also check out some Big East programs as well.

Ryan Laughlin played quarterback as a freshman and for a bit as a sophomore for Cardinal O’Hara before Tom Savage took over the starting role and since then, he’s been starring at safety. Laughlin will enter his senior year with some big shoes to fill, but people who have seen him play think he’ll fill the void very well.

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Louisville Arena By Night

The lights are on  at the construction site of the new downtown arena, which will serve as the new home of the University of Louisville basketball team. The opening will be Nov. 1, 2010, a mere 486 days away. President James Ramsey awarded the U of L Presidential  Medal to Chairman Jim Host and board members of the Louisville Arena Authority this week. Here’s a link to the arena web cam.

The Louisville Central pipeline certainly has been productive for Kentucky recently and there are two more standouts there this season that coach Ty Scoggins thinks are potential college stars.

Scout.com three-star tight end Jarrett Darmstatter collected a dozen scholarship offers during the spring, including one from Louisville. Are the Cards under consideration? InsideTheVille.com checks in with the New Jersey prospect for an in-depth recruiting update.

Virginia Beach (Va.) Bayside linebacker Henry Coley made a decision earlier today. Where is the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder heade

On Thursday, the Big East conference releases all of the home and away basketball games for the 2009-10 basketball season. The University of Louisville Big East Conference slate will include 18 games, including two games each against Connecticut, Syracuse and St. John's. Find out more inside.

The BIG EAST Conference announced that the University of Louisville football games at Connecticut on October 17 and the home game versus Syracuse on November 14 will be televised as the BIG EAST Game of the Week.

The University of Louisville's 2009-10 men's basketball season in the BIG EAST Conference will include a challenging slate of 18 games, including two games each against Connecticut, Syracuse and St. John's.

Three-star safety Earnest Thomas out of Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's has come to a decision. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder actually gave his pledge a couple days ago despite not visiting the school to dat