Louisville Football: Two More Cardinals Make Award Watch List

Yesterday it was announced that Louisville football’s Dez Fitzpatrick and Jaylen Smith had made the Biletnikoff Award watch list. Today, two Louisville tight ends have been named to the John Mackey watch list.

In their car wash through the ACC Media Day one thing that became apparent very quickly was that the Louisville football program was being under estimated, leading star wide receiver Jaylen Smith to say “I’m sure they think we have fallen off the face of the earth.”

I get it. No matter my bias towards the Louisville program, I understand why people might have questions.

Losing a once in generation type player like Lamar Jackson, and replacing him with a relatively unknown prospect causes a lot of people to doubt. The defense was also a mess last season, so it makes sense that media members and fellow coaches/players might doubt a bounce back, even under a new defensive coordinator.

Some might say, that’s not even doubt or unbelief, that’s just being real.

Well, we also saw that nearly every single Louisville player was left off of the voting list for the All-ACC Preseason team. Quarterback (Puma Pass), running back (Dae Williams, Colin Wilson, Trey Smith), offensive line (Lukayus McNeil, Mekhi Becton), cornerback (Rodjay Burns, PJ Mbanasor), safety, punter and kicker were all left off the list. No way, I’m not buying that.

Another position that you may have noticed was left off the voting ballot was tight end, a position that should be a strength for this Cardinals team, unlike last season. If you needed any confirmation that-that was a sham, look no further than the watch list that was released today for the John Mackey Award, which included TWO Louisville tight ends; Micky Crum and Kemari Averett.

Per the John Mackey Award website:

"The Friends of John Mackey have released the 2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List. Given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end, the award recipient is selected by vote of the John Mackey Award Selection Committee and the 2018 Mackey Award recipient will be announced on December 5, 2018 and then presentedlive on December 6, 2018 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. All future announcements can be found at www.johnmackeyaward.com."

Last year’s John Mackey Award winner was Oklahoma’s Mark Andrews, who is now a teammate of former Louisville Quarterback, Lamar Jackson, with the Baltimore Ravens. The 2018 award watch list included notable names including, Noah Fant (Iowa), Albert Okwuegbunam (Missouri), Caleb Wilson (UCLA), and Kaden Smith (Stanford).

Reaction:

Though both Micky Crum and Kemari Averett are relatively unproven as contributing tight ends, they both deserve to be on the John Mackey Award wish list. Crum, a fifth year senior, has been buried on the depth or dealing with injuries nearly his entire career but 2018 could be the season he finally produces. As Bobby Petrino mentioned yesterday, the 2018-19 Louisville offense will be far more balanced with Puma Pass at the helm. You can expect a lot more halfback carries, especially with a strong offensive line, which will open up the play action game where Crum should thrive. Crum showed during his freshman year the ability to catch the ball at a high level, bringing in 14 receptions for 163 yards and three touchdowns.

Petrino was asked about his confidence in the tight end position earlier this offseason, and he chose to speak specifically on Crum, saying:

"“He’s had as good of a spring as he’s ever had. Micky is a very capable player. He’s had really good games, he’s blocked really well, caught the ball really well, and made a lot of big plays for us. He just hasn’t been able to be as consistent as you would like and that’s what he is working hard on.”"

Even with Crum as the most experienced tight end on the roster, Kemari Averett is expected to be one of the biggest breakout players for the Cardinals this season. The 6’7″, 265 pound tight end played sparingly as a freshman, but with the loss of Charles Standberry, Averett should get plenty of playing time in 2018. The freshman finished last year with 7 receptions for 79 yards, and 1 touchdown. Petrino talked about how incredible the right side line could be this season with returning offensive lineman Lukayus McNeil, and Mekhi Becton (both over 300 pounds) along with Kemari Averett. The size and versatility of Averett should give Petrino a lot of unique lineups to use against opposing ACC defenses.

Once again I understand the doubt that people have about the Louisville football program in 2018, but there is a lot of young talent, who could be in store for big seasons. Crum and Averett, should both provide unique skillets to the offense this season, providing Jawon Pass with several weapons over the middle of the field.

The Mackey award will be handed on December 6th in New York as apart of the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.

Next: Three Takeaways From Media Day