‘The Cardinal Countdown: 90 Days Until Kickoff’

HAMILTON ATKINS

Height: 6’4″ 

Weight: 250lb

Position: TE

Class: RS Sophomore

Hometown: Louisville, KY

Summary: The Louisville kid, Atkins, is coming up on his third season in the program, after wrapping up a nice high school career for the St. X Tigers. Atkins got a few reps the last couple seasons but hasn’t found significant time on the field up to this point. Tight End has been a bit of a head scratcher for me as a fan, as Brohm has shown the desire in the past to have his tight ends heavily involved in the passing game but in his three seasons at Louisville has not had a TE crack 300 yards receiving in a single season since he arrived. For context, the two years prior at Purdue, Payne Durham was a 500/560 yd guy.

Atkins is known for having good hands, but its well documented that if you can’t block at tight end, you wont play. With Tulsa transfer Foley out during the Spring Atkins got some second team looks along with Skinner and Reid. There will be competition, but having two years in the Brohm offense under his belt certainly wont hurt Atkins chances. For a few seasons we kept expecting to see someone jump Kurisky, but they never did (he’s gone now), and I believe a big part of that was his consistency at the spot and knowing the playbook. Atkins could have an edge over others in those areas.

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DAYLEN RUSSELL

Height: 6’3″ 

Weight: 300lb

Position: DL

Class: RS Freshman

Hometown: Miami, FL

Summary: While I do think the narrative can be a bit overplayed at times, there is 100% truth to the statement that very talented athletes at blue blood programs can at times get buried behind other very talented athletes and not get the reps they may be deserving of. Daylen checked all the boxes in high school, and has film that will make O-lineman blush, but he was also a part of one of the more dominant defensive lines in the country last year with the Miami Hurricanes. Not beating out those guys for reps consistently is nothing to hang your head about, and the good news for Louisville is that Russell brings along with him multiple years of eligibility and “low mileage” related to other high caliber transfers.

Russell was a target for the Cards as a high schooler so making the slide to Louisville was not out of the blue, and his talent was flexed a bit during the spring as he showed off his size and speed, jumping off the line like he was coming out of the blocks at a track meet, and creating problems in the middle. As a 300lb freshman Russell will be in the mix this season, and could earn starting opportunities entering the fall. A Canes fan broke down some film after his commitment to Miami last year.

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ADAM WINKENHOFER

Height: 5’10” 

Weight: 195lb

Position: P

Class: RS Sophomore

Hometown: Shepherdsville, KY

Summary: The former Bethlehem Eagle made the drive up north from Bardstown and joined the Cards a  couple years back, The rumor is old ‘Wink is still the best thing to come out of Bethlehem in over 2000 years.

The Swiss army knife of specialists not only has the ability to punt the ball, but can also place kick, and hold better than a blackjack champion sitting on 17. While being a jack of all trades has it perks, Winkenhofer is still looking to push through and find his role in the special teams unit in a more permanent position.  There is some uncertainty in a few areas with the Cards losing Ranvier at kicker and Chapeau who worked as the holder for a good portion of the year. Adam has a shot to slide into a spot or be a solid backup in multiple areas if needed.

And that my friends wraps up a Day 90 three-for. Not often you get three for the same price as one, but around here, we aim to please.