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Recruiting Sees Drastic Improvement from Steve Kragthorpe to Charlie Strong

It's been 5 months since Charlie Strong took over as head football coach at UofL, and I've seen nothing short of a major upswing from a recruiting standpoint. Since he took the reins back in December, he's taken the 'Ville to new recruiting heights we've never experienced, not even when Bobby Petrino was here(if only we could've found a cure for his floating eye syndrome). In two months, he was able to get almost 15 quality kids to commit to the program for the class of 2010 and he's gotten 11 to commit already for the class of 2011, with that number steadily rising on a daily basis. The 2010 class was a top 40 class, and I can easily see us on the verge of having our first-ever top 25 recruiting class in school history. The 2010 class is so good to where I can easily see at least 4 of those kids earning starting positions by the season opener against UK:QB Dominque Brown, WR Michaellee Harris, DE B.J. Butler, and LB Preston Brown. Now where that says a lot about where the recruiting has improved since coach Strong was introduced as coach, it also says a lot about how the recruiting standards took a big-time nosedive doing Steve Kragthorpe's tenure. Before his arrival back in 2007, we were on the verge of seeing two-star recruiting as a thing of the past. During Kragthorpe's tenure, however, we went right back to doing what we'd done in the past, settling for the leftover recruits that no one else wanted and still expecting to compete on the highest level. But once coach Strong arrived, we've seen recruiting on the upswing once again, perhaps even better than it was before. Not only that, but once he gets you here, he pushes you to be nothing short of being great, not just good, but great. That's something we haven't seen around here in about four years. Bobby Petrino was real good at getting the most out of his players, but you never knew who he was secretly contacting behind everyone's back(Auburn and LSU for example). Steve Kragthorpe wanted to be here, but no one wanted him to ever be here from the beginning. That's what makes Charlie Strong so special, because he's shown already that we can really appreciate,(1) the fact that he's gonna strive to get 110% out of his players daily, and (2) he's shown a true sincerity in regards to wanting to be her

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Comment by RabidCard on May 6, 2010 at 9:38pm: Just think, with a year under his belt for the next recruiting class...

Comment by Terry Jackson on May 6, 2010 at 11:30pm: Jerome, I'm going to take a different view from yours. I say QB Brown will play in a package situation but will not start,WR Michaellee Harris I will give you a maybe but I'm not convinced yet he will start, DE B J Butler I say will not start against UK but will some PT, and that leaves Preston Brown. If Brown plays outside then maybe yes he starts. But this little quote ("Louisville recruited Brown as a middle linebacker.") from a Scout article after committing tells me he won't start unless an injury happens to Canady before the UK game.

So while there are enough possibilities that your view could happen I'm going to agree to disagree that it will happen.

Comment by Terry Jackson on May 6, 2010 at 11:41pm: In addition I will say that Strong has most assuredly taken Cardinal football recruiting to a level never before seen here. From everything I'm hearing and reading we still don't have a clue just who or how many highly sought recruits that this staff is in with. How many do they land, I don't know but the odds are with them that they will get enough to take this next class to a level that will shock the big boys and let them know that Strong and staff ain't playin'. If the coaching comes through this season and is evident to the players for the 2012 class then things will really get crazy here. Just an unbelievable outlook from that point on.

No doubt in my mind that this staff can coach as well or better than they can recruit. The real question here-in lies... How long will this staff stay together before pieces of it move on to bigger and better opportunities for them?

Comment by Shannon Ruffra on May 7, 2010 at 8:23am: You know how I am about recruits. We have to see how they adapt to the game at the college D-I BCS level. No doubt the players Jerome and you mentioned will be impact players at Louisville, but until I see them among the rest of the team in the Fall, I do not have a clue as to when they will make the impact.

Bigger playbook, more advanced plays, faster game, bigger guys, more talented guys, etc. Like Earl Clark coming off the bench for most of his freshman year due to the speed of the college game was throwing him off. Like comparing apples and oranges in aspect to football to basketball, but just an example we can all see where a great player had some problems adapting to the speed of college.

I agree with Jerome about the players he listed being studs and there are SEVERAL more coming in that I feel can impact as well, like Kai Dominguez (2-star even) and others.

We will just have to see how they acclimate to the college game upon arrival and learning the playbook and assignments.

Comment by Jerome Nichols on May 7, 2010 at 1:32pm: I know I might be getting a little over-excited and jumping the gun a little bit with my prediction of 4 freshmen starting by opening day, but can't you tell how anxious and excited I am about the potential possibilities concerning the upcoming season and beyond? I mean I haven't felt this much euphoria in about 3 years. It feels good to feel this way once again. I'm still trying to drink it all in and it feels good going down!!

Comment by Terry Jackson on May 7, 2010 at 8:06pm: I hear ya but patience grasshopper!! LOL. Take a deep breath and let's get a season under our belts before we go off the deep end. We will still feel some lows before we get over the hump. Besides, your a pretty big fella and I just don't think I can pack you over that hump. Keep your feet on the ground and we all can get there at the same time.

Comment by Geoffissiffoeg on May 7, 2010 at 9:12pm: Speaking of recruiting, Coach Strong just tweeted "Some more big news coming for our football program. Go cards" He usually refers to a commitment when he says good or big news/ Anyone hear anything?