Notes and Observations from Louisville's Second Open Fall Camp Practice

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fall camp is in full swing for the Louisville football program. The Cardinals are kicking off their first week of their three-week long fall camp, with two sessions already in the books.

Their second practice, which took place on Friday, was the second of six practices that were open to both the fans and media. Like we were for practice No. 1, Louisville Cardinals On SI was there for it all to watch the second open practice of fall camp.

Below is our notebook of the more notable happenings that transpired during the morning:

Prior to warmups, the special teamers got in some work for a few minutes, as usual. Nick Keller displayed the strongest leg during this period, bit Carson Hilbert was solid as well. That being said, it was hard for anyone to be consistent due to some strong winds early in the morning.
After warmups, Louisville got in a fair amount of kick return work, both with the gunners and returners. As far as the latter category goes, Dacari Collins, Antonio Harris, Isaac Brown, Caullin Lacy, Duke Watson and Bobby Golden were among those fielding kicks.
Once the team broke into positionals, I wanted to spend this time watching primarily the running backs. Of course, Brown unquestionably was who looked the best. But someone else who caught my eye during this time was walk-on Braxton Jennings. RBs coach Chris Barclay mentioned to me before practice started that he was high on Jennings, and he did demonstrate some pretty good burst and footwork for a walk-on freshman.
I also wanted to check out Shaun Boykins Jr. since he is cross-training at running back. Is he a work in progress? Sure. But he also has some promise at the position, too, as he has the build for the position.
During a resistance band drill, Brown also stood out here as well, as did Jennings and Duke Watson. Then the group teamed up with the quarterbacks, and spent roughly 5-10 minutes perfecting option tosses, read options, simple handoffs, and more of the sort. Remember, this was the second of two practices where it is install-heavy, so there's not a *ton* to draw from until Saturday's practice.
Following positionals was a very brief 7-on-7 segment. While there were only a handful of reps taken, Collins ran a nice dig route, and Daeh McCullough had what should have been a pick.
After this was a slightly longer 1-on-1 segment between the WR/TEs and the CB/LBs. Rodney Johnson was able to grab a pick over Chris Bell, though the latter got revenge with a great high point catch. Tight ends Davon Mitchell and Hamilton Atkins made great catches after contorting their bodies, and Collins had a great back shoulder snag.
Just before the midway point of practice, Louisville basically ran a 10-15 minute walkthrough-style segment. Here's I was able to notice a few wrinkles when it came the the depth chart up to this point. Miller Moss is obviously the starter, and while Deuce Adams continues to get some reps with the twos, Brady Allen seems to still be the backup as of right now. While Collins and TreyShun Hurry were two notable spring portal additions at wide receiver, Antonio Meeks, for the time being, is still WR3. There was a slight change to the starting offensive line, as Mahamane Moussa took over as the starting left tackle in place of Trevonte Sylvester. Lance Robinson, Pete Nygra, Victor Cutler and Rasheed Miller rounded out the starters, while the second string OL (from left to right) was: Makylan Pounders, Jordan Church, Sam Secrest, Carter Guillaume and Sylvester.
During the break and shortly after it, Louisville got some more special teams work in: this time with punting. As expected, Carter Schwartz looked the best, and had a handful of absolutely booming punts. Cooper Ranvier, a placekicker, didn't do half bad as well. Although there were a few ducks mixed in considering the aforementioned wind.
Following the ST work, Louisville ran a very long 7-on-7 segment. A couple of the top things I noticed: I see why Antonio Meeks is still WR3, as a he caught a phenomenal deep ball from Adams, and also showcased his improved route running ability. Speaking of Adams, he was the most willing of the quarterbacks to just let it rip downfield. Of course, check downs are your friend in case there's nothing downfield. But Adams arguably has the most arm strength on the team, and he isn't afraid to use it. It's why I think he inevitably wins the battle for the backup spot.
Both side of the ball had great plays during this extended 7-on-7. Offensively, Collins made a tough catch through contact, Lacy made an impressive sliding catch, and Kris Hughes had a catch through a facemask. Not to mention Chris Bell continues to look like the WR1 he is. With the QBs, Moss continued to showcase his ability to make correct reads, Allen continues to make headway in this area, and Mason Mims had some snappy throws as well.
There were plenty of great defensive plays during this period as well. Antonio Harris had multiple pass breakups, including one where he had to dive, Trent Carter was able to knock a ball free on a hit, while Rae'mon Mosby was able to get a hand in and break up a pass as well.
Practice ended with another lenghty walkthrough-style segment. Considering they put on full pads starting on Saturday, we'll start to know a lot more about the team and the progress during fall camp then.

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