The Cardinal Countdown: 26 Days Until Kickoff|UL Hot Topics|Team BattleGround|College BattleGround

#26 Jalen Washington

Class: Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 5-7/177

Position: Wide Receiver

Hometown: Frankfort, KY

Twitter: @JPup7

Thoughts: Soooo…Jalen Washington is still on the UofL roster but I think the man is moving on. A quick scan through his twitter timeline seems to indicate that he may be joining the Morehead State Eagles this coming season. If that’s the case, wish him nothing but the best, if not…

Jalen walked on with the Cards last year and unsurprisingly didn’t really break the rotation of a very deep and very talented wide receiving corps last year. I think most would consider him undersized for a D-I team but don’t forget that speed and athleticism can make up for a lack of height (See: Samuel, Traveon). Wouldn’t expect Jalen to see the field this year either (if he’s still on the team) but would anticipate him to keep putting in work on the practice squad.

Sweet Tweet:

I got love for everybody who got love for me.

— Jalen Washington (@JPup7) June 15, 2016

Athlon released an article back on Monday where the ACC coaches were able to talk about the other ACC teams under a cloak of anonymity. There was some love going on…and some shade being thrown as well. Worth the read for sure.

.

.

#26 Chris Taylor-Yamanoha

Class: Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-2/185

Position: Wide Receiver/Defensive back

Hometown: Rohnert Park, CA

Twitter: @christayami

Thoughts: The recruitment of Chris is a pretty cool story. Louisville doesn’t exactly hop over to the West Coast on a weekly basis during the recruiting cycles, so how did this four star athlete end up wearing the red and black, or even show up on our radar? Blood is thicker than…geography…or something like that. See, Chris was actually born and raised in ‘The Ville’ until moving out west as a kid, and his mom is a proud Louisville Alum. Chris came in town for a camp last year, the coaches liked what they saw, and journey to bring Chris back to Louisville began. After originally committing to the Cards back in November Chris took a few looks elsewhere (Washington) before reaffirming his commitment to the Cards in January. While I’m sure Chris made the final call on his own we all learn fairly early that mom knows a thing or three about what might be best for us, so one might assume she may have had a small impact in his decision to come back home. (If so, thanks Mom)

Lots of folks followed the recruitment of Taylor-Yamanoha pretty closely once a little of his backstory leaked out last year and as cool as it would be to see Chris come back and play for the Cards for the story alone…the dude is pretty dang good at “footballing” as well. Playing both sides of the ball in high school Chris racked up over 3,100 yards and 65 touchdowns, not to mention his 19 career interceptions at corner. In his NSD breakdown Coach McGee highlighted his ability to grab the ball at a high point, create separation from the corner, and anticipate his next move after the catch based upon how the defense was aligned at the snap. McGee mentioned in that breakdown that they saw CTY as a wideout, and while that may have been true back in February, Petrino has shifted Chris to the defensive side of the ball for now and has been publically giddy (as giddy as Petrino can get) about how excited he is to see the 6-2 athlete with quick feet and great hands playing corner (Grantham and Heyward seem pretty pumped too).While the move in 2016 may be out of necessity (depth at WR plus some needed depth at corner) I’ll be interested to see how the career arc of CTY plays out while at Louisville. If he comes in and plays well at corner do you risk losing a great defender back to the offensive side of the ball? There is certainly more room at corner moving forward in 2017, 18, and beyond, but he wasn’t named North Bay Player of the Year or placed on the All-State team at wideout for no reason. Of course, I think we all know if Petrino wants him back at wideout…well, he usually gets his way. What it really boils down too for CTY the next three-four years is “how do we get this talented kid on the field”, and that is ALWAYS a great problem to have.

Sweet Tweet:

Michigan State

— Chris T.Y. (@christayami) March 18, 2016

I think everyone who cheers for Louisville, on this site especially, can always crack a smile when Michigan State experiences some pain.

We haven’t forgotten about your little comeback at home last year…..or the Elite 8 game in 2015…..or the Elite 8 game in 2009…

BUT…

I also remember this beauty from 2012…

VillenHD!