Becton returns from injury for senior day
Mekhi Becton might have played his final game at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville football’s 56-34 victory over Syracuse Nov. 24. Louisville honored the careers of 27 seniors Saturday, but the junior left tackle had some emotions as the Cardinals sealed their seventh win of the year.
“It meant a lot, knowing this possibly might be my last home game, and sending these seniors away,” Becton said. “It all hit me at the end of the game and it didn’t all day but then hit me at the end of the game.”
With a 6-foot-7, 369-pound frame, Becton is projected as a potential first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Becton started 10 games as a freshman before making 12 starts last season.
Becton made nine consecutive starts this season, but suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter against Miami Nov. 9. Becton didn’t play against NC State the following week. He returned to action against Syracuse in his typical starting role.
Despite his pro potential, Becton hasn’t let his future disrupt his preparation and play for Louisville. Becton said the NFL Draft hasn’t been a distraction for him.
“It hasn’t been hard at all because I know I still have to keep playing so I don’t think about it too much,” Becton said. “I still have to play like, I don’t have anything, and I feel like Coach [Dwayne] Ledford helped me a lot with that because he keeps telling me ‘stay the course’ so that’s what I have been doing all year.”
