Cardinal Carvings

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Virginia linebacker picks Cards

Privott is Kragthorpe's first '09 commitment

By Jody Demling

jdemling@courier-journal.com

The University of Louisville football team picked up its first commitment from the Class of 2009 last week.

Norfolk (Va.) Lake Taylor linebacker Mike Privott picked the Cardinals over Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Penn State and Connecticut.

The 6-foot, 233-pound Privott had 238 total tackles the past two seasons as an outside linebacker.

"Me and my folks talked to (U of L coach Steve Kragthorpe), and my parents loved him," Privott told Cardinalsports.com. "He said, 'I'm very excited you want to be a Cardinal, and we want to build a great relationship with you and your family.' That made me very confident in my decision when he said that about my family.

"He's a down-to-earth guy and cracks jokes, but when it comes down to business he's ready to go. I'm like that, too."

[mikebeau]

Stripling kicked off Cardinals

Speedy RB violated undisclosed team rule

By Brian Bennett • bbennett@courier-journal.com • May 17, 2008

Stripling missed all of spring practice while on an indefinite suspension.

He played in 34 career games for the Cardinals, finishing with 1,338 yards and 13 touchdowns. His best season came as a freshman, when he had 621 yards and seven touchdowns. Stripling ran for 258 yards and one score last year.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native was one of U of L's speediest players, but he also found himself in and out of the coaches' doghouse the past two seasons. He was suspended for one game as a junior and went missing for long stretches as a sophomore after struggling with fumbles.

U of L should still have plenty of depth at tailback in the upcoming season. Sophomore Bilal Powell is expected to be the main ball carrier, and senior Brock Bolen and redshirt freshman Victor Anderson should also see a lot of playing time.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080517/SPORTS02/805170549/1002/SPORTS

[BullMedic]

That other RB Brock Bolen is a beast. He was picking up huge carries at the end of the season. He was a power back that had really good speed to complement it.

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Stripling kicked off Cardinals

Speedy RB violated undisclosed team rule

By Brian Bennett

bbennett@courier-journal.com

Senior running back George Stripling was dismissed from the University of Louisville football team yesterday for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Stripling missed all of spring practice while on an indefinite suspension.

He played in 34 career games for the Cardinals, finishing with 1,338 yards and 13 touchdowns. His best season came as a freshman, when he had 621 yards and seven touchdowns. Stripling ran for 258 yards and one score last year.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native was one of U of L's speediest players, but he also found himself in and out of the coaches' doghouse the past two seasons. He was suspended for one game as a junior and went missing for long stretches as a sophomore after struggling with fumbles.

U of L should still have plenty of depth at tailback in the upcoming season. Sophomore Bilal Powell is expected to be the main ball carrier, and senior Brock Bolen and redshirt freshman Victor Anderson should also see a lot of playing time.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Running back George Stripling was dismissed from the Louisville football team Friday for a violation of team rules.

Stripling was suspended for one game last season for an unspecified violation of team rules. He ran for 1,338 yards and 13 touchdowns in 34 career games for the Cardinals.

Stripling, from Jacksonville, Fla., has one year of eligibility remaining.

[I Bleed Awesomeness]

UL's running game will be MUCH improved this year....Bilal is the man.  I wish we wouldve given him a chance at rb instead of recruiting him solely as a DB.

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Jurich: U of L football in rebuilding phase

University of Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich said today that the football program is in a rebuilding phase.

“We’re definitely in a rebuilding process," Jurich told the school's Athletic Association’s board of directors. "We’re very limited from a depth standpoint. The next two years ... I just want to get through them.â€Â

But Jurich praised the work of head coach Steve Kragthorpe and his assistants and promised that “discipline will never be an issue.â€Â

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Cards' redshirt RB Martin gets release, will transfer

From Courier-Journal and Special Dispatches

One of the top running back prospects ever to sign with the University of Louisville football team has left the school before playing a down.

Redshirt freshman Dale Martin said yesterday that he has received his release from U of L and will transfer.

"I talked to my family and my high school coach, and I kind of think I needed a fresh start," Martin said from his home in Bolingbrook, Ill. "I had been battling injuries, and a lot of things were just going wrong. I thought I'd cut my losses and get a fresh start."

Martin committed to the Cardinals the day before former coach Bobby Petrino left for the Atlanta Falcons in January 2007. The 6-foot 208-pounder was ranked as the No. 20 running back nationally and No. 1 in Illinois by Rivals.com.

But Martin needed shoulder surgery after his senior year, and the injury slowed him considerably in practice. He also battled leg injuries.

Martin will sit out the coming season under NCAA transfer rules, and he said he'll use that time to get healthy and pick a new school.

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McKinney, Millenbaugh leave U of L football

The Courier-Journal

Two University of Louisville football players have left the team in recent weeks.

They are James McKinney, a transfer from the University of Michigan, and C. J. Millenbaugh, who came to U of L from a California junior college.

McKinney, a 6-foot-2, 274-pound junior defensive tackle from Louisville, was dismissed from the program early this month, team spokesman Rocco Gasparro said yesterday.

"He was here in the spring, but he really didn't participate much," Gasparro said. "He had to get his grades up. He didn't get his grades up ... so Coach (Steve Kragthorpe) had to dismiss him from the team."

Millenbaugh, a 6-3, 262-pound offensive lineman, left earlier in the spring for personal reasons, Gasparro said. Millenbaugh previously played at Fullerton College.

McKinney was a Courier-Journal second-team All-State pick at Central High School in 2004.

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Spillman gets DUI charge dropped

Pleads guilty to pot possession

By Jason Riley

jriley@courier-journal.com

A charge of driving under the influence against University of Louisville receiver JaJuan Spillman was dismissed by a district court judge Wednesday, but Spillman pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Spillman had been charged after a Jan. 31, 2007, car accident near campus. He was in the middle of a two-day jury trial when his attorney, Grant Helman, asked the judge to dismiss the DUI charge for lack of evidence.

Helman said that charge was dismissed, in large part because police could not prove Spillman had been smoking marijuana immediately before the accident.

Police could only prove Spillman had smoked marijuana within 36 hours of the accident, Helman said.

Bill Patteson of the Jefferson County Attorney's Office said prosecutors had not decided whether to appeal the dismissal.

According to the police report, Officer Charles Sturgeon wrote that Spillman and a passenger admitted smoking in the car. Sturgeon smelled an "odor of burnt marijuana" and found 9.3 grams of marijuana in the car, according to the report.

Spillman pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and was ordered to pay a $100 fine and attend a drug class.

U of L football spokesman Rocco Gasparro said yesterday's proceeding doesn't alter Spillman's status with the team.

"He was disciplined internally when the incident happened last year," Gasparro said. "There'll be no further discipline."

Spillman has another court hearing Aug. 29 to ensure he is following the conditions of his plea agreement.

Helman said Spillman has been required by the football team to take drug tests for more than a year and has been clean.

Spillman, who'll be a junior, played in six games last year. He averaged 22.2 yards on 18 kickoff returns. He caught nine passes for 64 yards, rushed four times for 42 yards and had five punt returns for 44 yards.

[Bullpride08]

Good grief, talk about a program that didn't need more bad stuff, they lose Dale Martin, one of their top JC OL that signed this year, a Michigan transfer, Anthony Allen, Stripling, they lost another DT...

The team is in shambles...Bilal Powell is a good back for sure, but he's not a savior.  Not with an OL returning only two starters, and one that is very overrated, no TE"s, their starting DE's are oversized DT's.

An aweful hire that I called from the minute it happened.  Kragthorpe was simply an above average non-BCS coach, not equipped for the pressure quicker Petrino left him at UL.