2007 Louisville Cardinals football team
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville
in the 2007 college 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
.
. After the win they were ranked 5th 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.
, 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 Hurricanes, 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.
. 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
.
In addition to the honors, Brohm was also named to the Playboy
pre-season All-America
team.
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.
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
in the 2007 college football season
2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 30, 2007, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 7, 2008, where the top...
. The team, led by Steve Kragthorpe
Steve Kragthorpe
Steve Kragthorpe is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He was head coach at Louisville from 2007 to 2009, and for Tulsa from 2003 through 2006.- Early career :Kragthorpe was born in...
in his first year at the school, played their home games in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
Papa John's Cardinal Stadium is a football stadium located in Louisville, Kentucky, USA and serves as the home of the University of Louisville football program. It opened in 1998, making it the second-to-last football stadium in NCAA Division I-A to open in the 20th century, with SMU's Gerald J....
and were in their third year in the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
.
Pre-season
The Cardinals finished the 2006 season with a 12-1 record, including a win in the Orange Bowl2007 Orange Bowl
The 2007 FedEx Orange Bowl game is a college football bowl game. It is part of the 2006-2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange Bowl was first played in 1935. The 2007 game was played on January 2, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens,...
. After the win they were ranked 5th in the nation. Returning fourteen starters from their 2006 team, including quarterback Brian Brohm
Brian Brohm
Brian Joseph Brohm is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
the team was picked, by the Big East media, to finish second in the conference, and were ranked
2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Three polls and one formulaic ranking make up the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a National Championship title. That title is bestowed by one or more...
between five and 13 in various preseason polls.
Coaching changes
Almost a week after their victory in the Orange Bowl, head coach, Bobby PetrinoBobby Petrino
Bobby Petrino is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Arkansas, a position he has held since the 2008 season...
, was offered and took the head coaching position with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Two days later, Steve Kragthorpe, former head coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes, 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 Draft2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
. From the offense, running back Michael Bush
Michael Bush
Michael Bush is an American football running back for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
was taken in the fourth round by Oakland
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and running back Kolby Smith
Kolby Smith
-Kansas City Chiefs:His first career NFL start was on November 25, 2007 due to injuries to Larry Johnson and the retirement of Priest Holmes. He recorded his first career touchdown on that date against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City....
was taken in the fifth round by Kansas City
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
. From the defense, tackle Amobi Okoye
Amobi Okoye
-Houston Texans:Okoye signed a five-year deal with the Texans on July 26, which allowed him to begin training camp with his teammates the next day. With his first start, Okoye became the youngest player to appear in an NFL game since 1967....
was taken tenth by Houston
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
while cornerback, William Gay
William Gay (cornerback)
William Gay is an American football cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, formerly of the University of Louisville football team. He was chosen by the Steelers with the 170th pick of the 2007 NFL Draft.-College career:...
was taken in the fifth round by Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
.
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 BrohmBrian BrohmBrian Joseph Brohm is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
- Manning AwardManning AwardThe Manning Award has been presented annually since 2004 to the collegiate American football quarterback adjudged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States...
and Maxwell AwardMaxwell AwardThe Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best football player in the United States. The... - Adrian Grady - Bronko Nagurski TrophyBronko Nagurski TrophyThe Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America to be the best defensively in the National Collegiate Athletic Association; the award is presented by the Charlotte...
- Eric Wood - Outland TrophyOutland TrophyThe Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...
In addition to the honors, Brohm was also named to the Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
pre-season All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
team.
Roster
Wide Receiver
Center
Offensive Guard
Offensive Tackle
Tight End
Quarterback
Tailback
Fullback
Defensive End
Defensive Tackle
Cornerback
Linebacker
Safety
Long Snapper
Punter
Place Kicker
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 KragthorpeSteve Kragthorpe
Steve Kragthorpe is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He was head coach at Louisville from 2007 to 2009, and for Tulsa from 2003 through 2006.- Early career :Kragthorpe was born in...
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 at Louisville | Alma Mater Alma mater Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:... (Year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Kragthorpe Steve Kragthorpe Steve Kragthorpe is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He was head coach at Louisville from 2007 to 2009, and for Tulsa from 2003 through 2006.- Early career :Kragthorpe was born in... |
Head Coach | 1st | West Texas A&M West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University , part of the Texas A&M University System, is a public university located in Canyon, Texas, a small city south of Amarillo. West Texas A&M opened on September 20, 1910... (1988) |
| Jeff Brohm Jeff Brohm Jeffrey Scott Brohm is an Assistant Coach and the Quarterbacks Coach for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team... |
Quarterbacks | 5th | Louisville (1993) |
| Mike Cassity | Defensive Coordinator Safeties |
4th | Kentucky University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky... (1976) |
| Reggie Johnson | Inside Linebackers | 5th | Louisville (1996) |
| Mark Nelson | Defensive Line Special Teams |
1st | East Central East Central University East Central University is a four year public university in Ada, Oklahoma, located in the south central region of the state. The university also has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, Ardmore, and Durant.... (1980) |
| Greg Nord | Tight Ends Recruiting Coordinator |
13th | Kentucky (1980) |
| Charlie Stubbs | Offensive Coordinator Wide Receivers |
1st | Brigham Young Brigham Young University Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students... (1978) |
| Brent Myers | Offensive Line | 1st | Eastern Washington Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University is an American public, coeducational university located in Cheney, Washington.Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided into four colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Public Administration; Science, Health and Engineering; and Social & Behavioral... (1982) |
| Tony Alford | Running Backs | 1st | Colorado State Colorado State University Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and... (1992) |
| Mike Mallory | Secondary | 1st | Michigan University of Michigan The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan... (1985) |