Louisville football: 3 things we learned from week one of camp

There’s a reason the players love Scott Satterfield

I’ve never been more thankful in my entire life as a fan to have a coach like Scott Satterfield as I am now. As Louisville goes through unchartered waters trying to navigate a pandemic while playing football, one thing has been constant; Satterfield and the entire Louisville football staff’s support for their players.

Throughout the entire offseason we’ve heart coach after coach, headlined by the man at the top, talk about their players and wanting to make sure that they are okay both physically and mentally. From the cancelling of spring practices to getting the players home safely, to pushing them to literally push through obstacles during quarantine, to putting in the most strict policies and procedures in order to make sure that his guys could do what they love most; play football.

To get on the field hours and hours of team meetings and conversations have been had and the bond between a program and its coach hasn’t been stronger in my life time as a Cardinal. We knew what kind of character and integrity the coaching staff had when they took over, and we’ve seen it times a million during the pandemic and difficult times of racial tension.

Veteran cornerback Anthony Johnson spoke about his coach’s support, saying;

"“We have talked with Coach Satterfield on some of the things we want to implement throughout the year and throughout the team with some of the social justice things that are coming up. I feel like Coach Satterfield and his staff have done a great job listening to us.”"

As the players have taken to Twitter over the last 24-48 hours we’ve seen just about every single coach support their team in some form or fashion. Speaking with the media yesterday, Satterfield spoke openly and truthfully about what the last several days have been like for his program. He said:

"“We had players crying This morning in our meetings. They’re crying because they want to play,” Satterfield said… They want to play.” “We are dealing with this on a daily basis, and we have to tell this senior that, ‘I don’t know’…he’s crying because he wants to play his senior year of football.”"

When Satterfield speaks you can hear the plea and ask for help when it comes to keeping his players and others across the country safe. Because of their tight knit relationships, Louisville football’s coaching staff knows what is on the line and what a missed season could mean.

Calling out the NCAA and the leadership of the ACC (and Power 5 conferences) was not something I expected to ever heard from Scott Satterfield, but it showed just how strong his love for his players really is.