The Louisville football team practiced in full pads for the first time during the preseason on a warm, humid Wednesday morning at the grass practice fields.
After a 9 a.m. start, the Cardinals worked 26 periods and 2 1/2 hours with a temperature well above 90 degrees and a heat index of more than 105. Along with working in full pads for the first time, head coach Charlie Strong and his coaching staff directed the team through its first scrimmage of the preseason.
"This weather motivates you but it also drains you, which means you have to push that much more to work harder," said senior defensive end Rodney Gnat. "The coaches expect the best out of you, so you just have to fight through it."
Offensively, seniors Justin Burke and Adam Froman and sophomore Will Stein rotated at the quarterback position with the first team offense on Wednesday. Defensively, sophomore tackle Randy Salmon was also in full pads for the first time, though he focused on conditioning throughout the practice.
"We've been able to get some young guys involved in the offense and we seem to be coming along,"
said senior tight end Cameron Graham. "It took us a couple of days to get everything going, but we're going in the right direction now. Everybody seems to have a grasp of the offense right now, so we're able to go faster and execute better."
Louisville will return to the practice field on Thursday with its first two-a-day session of the preseason. They will start the day with an 8 a.m., practice before closing the day with another session at 4:30 p.m. The Cardinals will open the 2010 season against rival Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 3:30 p.m., ET at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in a game televised by ABC.
