Spring Practice Much Different In Year 2 of Satterfield Era
Everyone knows what Scott Satterfield was inheriting when he was announced as the new Louisville Football head coach on Dec. 4th, 2018. The Cardinals had just endured a 2-10 season that left them emotionally drained.
While they were still loaded with talent, the previous coaching regime has broken down this team so much to the point where many felt like they did not want to be there anymore.
Fast forward one year, and the Cards are coming off a 2019 season in which they quadrupled their win total from the previous year and capped it off with a bowl win & an ACC Coach of the Year honor for Coach Satterfield.
Combined with retaining nearly the entire coaching staff following the conclusion of their 8-5 campaign, spring practice has an entirely different feel for both the players and coaches alike. Head coach Scott Satterfield said it best:
"It's way different. I mean it's a night and day difference," Coach Satterfield said after Friday's spring practice. "Teams that are like this, you continue to get better and better at a faster rate."
In the first spring practice of his tenure as the head coach of the Cardinals, Satterfield for the most part was coaching effort to his players and what he expected them to do in the drills he runs in practice. It was mainly to instill the sense of familiarity they have today.
"Now they already know that," he said. "They know they gotta give effort, they know these drills."
What Satterfield is trying to emphasize now in spring practice is each player's technique and fine tuning all the smaller details, calling it the "major difference" between last year's spring practice and now.
"We know what to expect. We know the schedule. Everything stays consistent around here, and we just go by what Coach Satterfield has and have fun with it," inside linebacker CJ Avery said.
Instead of feeling dejected and lost, the players now have a more active role in spring practice. In the first spring practice open to the media this season, one could immediately notice that the players were more vocal and engaged, with some actually helping coach from the sidelines.
"They expect us to know a lot of things, so they just put more things in and expect us to have a grasp of the little small details and get better day by day."
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