The Louisville football team will count on a handful of former track stars to add some playmaking ability this fall.
Before Bobby Petrino walked into the Cardinal Stadium press box for his news conference on media day Saturday, he was on the field, participating in team photo exercises.
They brought in the seniors first, and there were not many. Then came the juniors, and there were a few more. But the classes that struck Petrino were the freshmen and sophomores, more than usual.
They will be tasked with important roles as the Louisville football team replaces a decorated outgoing class, retools and prepares for 2018.
On Aug. 3, the first day of practice, Louisville held split-squad workouts with mostly newcomers in the morning and veterans in the afternoon.
But there were exceptions: The coaches bumped a handful of true freshmen to the later session to work with the first team. Three of the five freshmen who arrived last winter, plus wide receiver Marcus Riley, practiced in the afternoon. The program mantra “Speed City” has brought an influx of fast athletes to contribute early.
“This is the fastest class, this 2018 class is ridiculous,” junior wide receiver Seth Dawkins said.
Tutu Atwell is a receiver Louisville will try to involve in its offense right away. He led Miami Northwestern to the Florida state championship as a quarterback.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick said Atwell might be Louisville’s smartest wide receiver, because of his background as a quarterback.
Riley, teammates say, can match Atwell stride-for-stride. He just arrived on campus this summer. Both he and Atwell took reps as punt returners at the beginning of the first practice.
Dawkins, Fitzpatrick and senior Jaylen Smith were on the cover of the media guide in front of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. They’ve spoken highly of the track stars who have entered the program behind them.
Asked to choose a 4x100-meter relay team out of the offensive players, Dawkins named Javian Hawkins, Jatavious Harris, Atwell and Tyler Harrell as the anchor. On defense, he went for Rodjay Burns, Jairus Brents, Marlon Character and Cornelius Sturghill. Six of those eight (though Brents will redshirt this season) are new recruits. Burns is eligible for the first time this fall.
On defense, Petrino named freshman linebacker Yasir Abdullah as a standout competitor. At Miami Carol City, Abdullah finished 11th in the long jump at the Florida state track meet last spring. He’s another sprinter but is also over 220 pounds now, Petrino said.