The 2007 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, led by Steve Kragthorpe in his first year at the school, played their home games in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and were in their third year in the Big East Conference. With the stunning upsets, the team has missed a bowl game for the first time in a decade (since 1997).
Pre-season The Cardinals finished the 2006 season with a 12–1 record, including a win in the Orange Bowl. After the win, they were ranked fifth in the nation. Returning fourteen starters from their 2006 team, including quarterback Brian Brohm the team was picked, by the Big East media, to finish second in the conference, and were ranked between five and 13 in various preseason polls.
Coaching changes Almost a week after their victory in the Orange Bowl, head coach, Bobby Petrino, was offered and took the head coaching position with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. Two days later, Steve Kragthorpe, former head coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, was hired for the position. Though five assistant coaches were retained, five new assistants were hired in the off-season, three of which came with Kragthorpe from his staff at Tulsa.
Roster changes Although returning 14 starters from 2006, the team lost four players to the 2007 NFL draft. From the offense, running back Michael Bush was taken in the fourth round by Oakland and running back Kolby Smith was taken in the fifth round by Kansas City. From the defense, tackle Amobi Okoye was taken tenth by Houston while cornerback, William Gay was taken in the fifth round by Pittsburgh.
Recruiting The Cardinals signed 15 recruits for the new class, including three junior-college transfers. Included in the top-50 class were one five-star recruit on defense, three four-star recruits on offense and another four-star recruit on defense. Also entering in with the class was 2006 recruit Josh Chichester, who wasn't able to enroll with his recruiting class.
Pre-season honors Three Cardinal players were honored as part of pre-season watchlists for national awards.
Brian Brohm – Manning Award and Maxwell Award Adrian Grady – Bronko Nagurski Trophy Eric Wood – Outland Trophy
In addition to the honors, Brohm was also named to the Playboy pre-season All-America team.
Season
Roster Wide receivers 3 Trent Guy – Sophomore 4 Patrick Carter – Senior 7 Mario Urrutia – Junior 9 Chris Vaughn – Junior 21 Troy Pascley – Freshman 25 Josh Miller – Freshman 26 JaJuan Spillman – Sophomore 27 Doug Beaumont – Freshman 83 Steve Orndorff – Freshman 83 Andrew Robinson – Sophomore 84 Scott Long – Sophomore 85 Harry Douglas – Senior 87 Corey Thompson – Junior 89 Josh Chichester – Freshman
Centers 62 Nick Borgelt – Junior 77 Eric Wood – Junior
Offensive guards 63 Danny Barlowe – Senior 66 Mike Donoghue – Sophomore 69 Marcel Benson – Senior 70 Conrad Thomas – Freshman 71 Abdul Kuyateh – Junior 79 Mark Wetterer – Freshman
Offensive tackles 51 Ryan Kessling – Freshman 55 Greg Tomczyk – Freshman 65 Josh Byrom – Sophomore 68 George Bussey – Junior 72 Brian Roche – Sophomore 74 Jeffrey Adams – Freshman 75 Zach Taylor – Freshman 76 Hector Hernandez – Freshman 78 Breno Giacomini – Senior
Tight ends 49 Pete Nochta – Freshman 80 Mike Fennerty – Freshman 81 Scott Kuhn – Senior 82 Gary Barnidge – Senior 86 Zach Meagher – Freshman
Quarterbacks 5 Matt Simms – Freshman 12 Brian Brohm – Senior 14 Hunter Cantwell – Junior 15 Bill Ashburn – Junior 17 Tyler Wolfe – Freshman 18 Caleb Newton – Freshman
Tailbacks 20 Victor Anderson – Freshman 24 George Stripling – Junior 28 Sergio Spencer – Junior 30 Dale Martin – Freshman 42 Anthony Allen – Sophomore 45 Blayne Donnell – Freshman
Fullbacks 32 Brock Bolen – Junior 48 Joe Tronzo – Sophomore
Defensive ends 8 Deantwan Whitehead – Sophomore 56 Michael Adams – Sophomore 58 Rodney Gnat – Freshman 73 Zach Kiernan – Freshman 88 Brandon Cox – Senior 90 Johnnie Burns – Junior 95 Maurice Mitchell – Junior
Defensive tackles 52 Elisee Pompilius – Junior 91 L.T. Walker – Freshman 92 Willie Williams – Senior 93 LD Scott – Sophomore 94 Adrian Grady – Junior 97 Aundre Henderson – Freshman 99 Earl Heyman – Junior
Cornerbacks 4 Travis Norton – Junior 9 Woodney Turenne – Junior 14 Rod Council – Junior 15 Chaz Thompson – Junior 19 Johnny Patrick – Freshman 22 James Wyatt – Freshman 34 Bobby Buchanan – Junior 37 Marcus Folmar – Junior 39 Marcell Lesueur – Freshman 44 Maurice Urrutia – Freshman
Linebackers 6 Preston Smith – Senior 7 Willie A. Williams – Junior 11 Malik Jackson – Senior 29 Lamar Myles – Junior 31 Darius Mann – Sophomore 41 Eugene Sowell – Freshman 46 Terrance Butler – Senior 50 Josh McDonald – Sophomore 54 James Bryant – Junior 54 Rashad Roberts – Sophomore 55 Chase Floyd – Junior 57 Mozell Axson – Junior 96 Patrick Grant – Freshman
Safeties 2 Richard Raglin – Junior 5 Brandon Heath – Freshman 10 Latarrius Thomas – Sophomore 13 Jon Russell – Senior 21 C.J. Peake – Freshman 23 Stephen Garr – Sophomore 24 Scedric Moss – Freshman 26 Daniel Covington – Sophomore 32 Bilal Powell – Freshman 38 Deon Palmer – Senior
Long snappers 40 Dane Mattingly – Sophomore
Punters 29 Cory Goettsche – Sophomore
Place kickers 15 Mac Soult – Freshman 18 Art Carmody – Senior 36 Todd Flannery – Senior 43 Justin Waltrip – Freshman 44 Paul Belshoff – Freshman 64 Steve Hartman – Freshman Sources: http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/lou/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07-fb-guide-44-59 http://louisville.scout.com/a.z?s=17&p=8&c=2&nid=696&yr=2007
Coaching staff The 2007 Cardinal team was coached by Steve Kragthorpe and his staff. Much of the coaching staff from 2006 remained, but Kragthorpe brought in other to fill out the staff, including, initially, three from his previous position. Keith Patterson was originally brought in from Tulsa as defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, however returned to Tulsa before the season began for personal reasons. Patterson was quickly replaced by Mike Mallory. Name Position Year atLouisville Alma Mater (Year) Steve Kragthorpe Head coach 1st West Texas A&M (1988) Jeff Brohm Quarterbacks 5th Louisville (1993) Mike Cassity Defensive coordinatorSafeties 4th Kentucky (1976) Reggie Johnson Inside linebackers 5th Louisville (1996) Mark Nelson Defensive lineSpecial teams 1st East Central (1980) Greg Nord Tight endsRecruiting coordinator 13th Kentucky (1980) Charlie Stubbs Offensive coordinatorWide receivers 1st Brigham Young (1978) Brent Myers Offensive line 1st Eastern Washington (1982) Tony Alford Running backs 1st Colorado State (1992) Mike Mallory Secondary 1st Michigan (1985)
Schedule
References