Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time

David Akers, a fan favorite long after he left Louisville, is one of the best kickers in school history who really got a jump-start on his career after departing for the NFL.

Akers’ career was pretty average statistically, but you have to figure that he played for some below-average teams. He began his freshman year on a high note as the placekicker for the 1993 Howard Schnellenberger squad that went 9-3. The next year, the Cards finished 7-4 before the College Football Hall of Fame coach departed, making way for Ron Cooper.

Akers finished his career during the transition from a quality era that brought the Cardinals to prominence. But as Louisville transitioned from Schnellenberger to Cooper, and from independent to a Conference USA, their play suffered across the board.

The Cardinals’ points per game were nearly cut in half. As a result, Akers kicked fewer extra points and had less protection on the line against an extremely difficult schedule.

The Lexington native made 62 percent of his field-goal attempts in his first three years while the Cards were an independent squad, but struggled in his final year.

Still, his career only took off from there. After being an undrafted free agent and making multiple quick stops around the league, Akers spent 11 years with the Philadelphia Eagles and remains their all-time leading scorer. He went on to become a six-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro.

15 years later, Akers is one of the most recognizable former Cardinals around the country. He seems to have acclimated to retirement pretty nicely and has an incredible troll game:

That’s an all-time troll job by an all-time Cardinal great.