Louisville Football: Three Takeaways From Media Day

Louisville football enters the 2018 season with expectations the lowest they have been since entering the ACC. On ACC media day, Bobby Petrino, Jaylen Smith, and Jon Greenard showed that they may have something to prove.

Conference media days seem pretty repetitive every year. The annual quasi-official start to the college football season is cliche central. All of the coaches are just happy to be here. The players are getting bigger and faster. They are really excited about the potential of this team. From Dabo Swinney at Clemson, to Dino Babers at Syracuse, every coach says pretty much the same things.

It can be tough to sift through all the crap to get to a few good tidbits from the coaches, especially if your coach is Bobby Petrino. The monotone king is one of the best at the “bigger, stronger, faster,” “I’m here so I don’t get fined” game.

But, on this media day, things may be a bit different. In 2018 in particular, Louisville really feels that they have something to prove. After losing Lamar Jackson and Jaire Alexander, national expectations are way down. Petrino and his team, however, feel like they have something special this year. With that in mind, here are three Louisville storylines that you should take away from the 2018 ACC Media Day:

1. Expectations From the National Media Are Low

Coming off of a year when Louisville didn’t quite meet expectations, and the Cards lose two of the most talented players in school history, it’s easy to see why nationally, expectations are tempered.

“I’m sure they think we have fallen off the face of the Earth, because Lamar did do a lot for the program,” said Jaylen Smith, a senior who accounted for nearly 1,000 receiving yards last year.

Various publications have Louisville finishing anywhere from 6-7 to 8-5, and everything in between.

One prediction that caught many off guard was from ESPN writer David Hale, who voted Louisville to finish 6th in the ACC Atlantic Division behind NC State, Boston College, and Wake Forest.

Another publication from ESPN and ACC analyst Andrea Adelson has the Cards 7th out of 14 teams in the ACC preseason power rankings.

It’s no shock that a lot of the national media is down on the Cards. Louisville brought two 2018 first round draft picks to media day last season, and the Cards still didn’t meet expectations. Now that both of those guys are gone, and Louisville loses production in some important areas, it’s up to the Cards to show the world that last season was an anomoly.

2. Petrino Believes Louisville Will Be Better on Offense Without Lamar Jackson

Although the national narrative is that the Cards will have a down year, Petrino has a firm belief that Louisville could and will be better on offense this year.

“I expect us to be better. I expect us to be more balanced, get more guys involved, especially in the running game,” Petrino said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge. I want to challenge our players and staff to come out and be better than last season.”

Most people’s first reaction is going to be to write this off, but Petrino has a point. What Jackson did in his time at Louisville was incredible, but it took the ball out of the hands of some tremendously talented players.

Now, Louisville returns a tremendous wide receiver corps, an experienced offensive line, talented tight ends, and a healthy stable of running backs. Every position has talent and depth, and is full of players waiting to prove themselves.

“We feel like we are sliding under the radar. But it’s up to us to just do what we do,” said Smith- who, along with sophomore Dez Fitzpatrick, was named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list on Thursday. Smith and Fitzpatrick return part of a wide receiver group that is an embarrassment of riches. Seth Dawkins, Corey Reed, and a slew of young and speedy guys return at wide receiver as well.

Petrino wants to spread the ball all over to a bevy of playmakers, though. “It might be the fastest team we’ve had. We’re a lot faster than we’ve been,” Petrino said of the team speed. He mentioned Tyler Harrell, Tutu Atwell, Marcus Riley, Hassan Hall, and others throughout the day as new players who add even more speed to the offense.

At quarterback, Louisville has a tough task in replacing Jackson, but the team thinks thinks Jawon Pass could be an improvement on the past two years. “We are going to be more balanced” Petrino said of the team’s rushing and passing attack. Pass is a threat with his legs, but can stand taller in the pocket than Jackson. He is a polished passer, natural leader, and knows the entire playbook. “We just need to try and make Puma’s job easier,” said Smith of Louisville’s new QB. “Puma has put in the work and now it’s his time to shine.”

Narrative be damned, Louisville is ready to step up post-Lamar Jackson.

3. Louisville has elite leaders in Jaylen Smith & Jon Greenard

Joining Smith and Petrino on Thursday was senior Jon Greenard. Greenard, a redshirt Junior linebacker who led the team with 15.5 tackles for loss last season, looks to lead the defense to a turn-around type of year.

Last year, for a defense that was a tremendous disappointment, Greenard was a big-time positive both on and off the field. He and Smith were no-brainers as selections to represent the team at media day. They did not disappoint, either.

Both players were bombarded with questions regarding Louisville’s opener against defending national champion Alabama, and handled it with maturity and poise.

“It’s 90% mental,” Smith said on preparing for Bama. “Alabama is one of the best teams of our time, they’ve won and showed they can win on a consistent basis. It’s a different type of training when you know you have to play against the defending national champions.”

“We have much respect for them. But, at the end of the day, they put their stuff on the same way we put our stuff on,” Greenard said of the Crimson Tide. “I don’t get intimidated by anyone, and my teammates don’t get intimidated by anyone. We are going to go out out there with a chip on our shoulders.”

A chip on their shoulder is exactly the way that this Louisville team will try to play all year. With a lot of the expectations being for the Cards to finish the season around .500, it won’t be tough for them to find outside motivation.

Next: Expectations Should be Higher for This Upcoming Season

If media day is any indication of the 2018 season, Louisville isn’t going down without a fight.