Why Louisville football’s spring practice is a crucial next step for Cards

The Cardinals have fifteen players enrolling early

It cannot be understated how important it is that Louisville football has over a dozen early enrollees heading into this season.

The Cardinals struggled with depth issues last season, and we saw when just one or two players sit due to injury, it affects the entire team. That’s what Louisville is hoping to start to avoid going forward under Satterfield.

In 2019, more than half of the incoming recruiting class redshirted, meaning that there is a whole group of young players with a full season of practice under its belts waiting in the wings.

Louisville’s Javian Hawkins, for example, redshirted in 2018 before setting the single-season rushing record by a Louisville running back last year. There could be another player like that getting reps this spring.

Additionally, the new enrollees from the 2020 class will get to have that same experience. If a player is ready to contribute right away, it is extremely important that Louisville gets him reps early and often. And if a guy is more of a project player, he will get two spring balls and a whole season of practice under his belt before ever joining the team.

It’s important to note that 15 is a massive number of players to enroll early. The Cardinals had only a handful in Evan Conley, Aidan Robbins, and Zach Williamson last year.

There’s a lot to love about having a ton of early enrollees, and Louisville’s coaching staff will be looking to get these new guys as many reps as possible to catch them up to speed.