The Sugar Bowl Win and the Ripple Effects

SHELBYVILLE, KY –

If you weren’t there in person to feel the effects of the monumental win over the Florida Gators in the 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl you could definitely feel and see the excitement and gratitude from the several hundred fans that lined the driveways behind the Howard Schnellenberger Complex yesterday to welcome home some of the Sugar Bowl Champions. From cities like Frankfort and Shelbyville all the way out to Shepherdsville, Cardinal red is being flaunted around like never before. Strolling around social media sites like Facebook and Twitter you become flooded with comments and photos of the “giant slayers” Louisville Cardinals football team and coaches.

(Charlie Strong got the gatorade bath in the Sugar Bowl- photo espn.com)

I personally don’t recall the feel after the 1991 Fiesta Bowl win over Alabama as I was only 10 years old but the 2007 Orange Bowl victory over Wake Forest produced quite a bit of excitement for several days. Some games just have the magnitude for a team win or lose that send out ripple effects that can be felt from head to toe. The Cards’ win over the 14 point favorite Gators was one of those games. Here are a few ripple effects with more to come I’m sure:

It didn’t take long for Coach Charlie Strong to capitalize on the ripple effect as he has gathered a verbal commitment from highly touted four star recruit, De’Asian Richardson. Richardson is a 6-foot-3 285-pound defensive tackle prospect from Orange Park, Florida that was committed to West Virginia and has offers from the nation’s elite including Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida St., South Carolina and Oklahoma just to name a few.
Coach Adron Robinson, who coaches Niceville High School in Florida, told me, “I’m here at the Army All American game in San Antonio and there are a lot of guys talking about the Cardinals big win. That performance will probably gain a recruit or two from some guys that weren’t originally going to commit there (Louisville).”
Coach Robinson is in San Antonio with two of his younger players, Tyre McCants (5-foot-10 184-pounds Wide Receiver) and Shi’Kim Coward (5-foot-9 175-pound Running Back). Robinson says the Cards are showing some interest and both of these kids could be big time recruits. McCants is a 2014 prospect and Coward is 2015. Niceville also has Nick Haynes, a 6-foot-4 294-pound offensive guard prospect for 2013 who is getting some looks from Louisville.
I spoke with recent stud defensive tackle commitment, Derrick Calloway and his mother Wendy Strong. Derrick said when asked if he watched the game, “Yes sir I got to watch the whole game minus a few minutes of the third quarter but it was great seeing them beat Florida like that. I can’t wait to go back to school to talk some smack to my friends who kept saying stuff like “Florida is going to crush Louisville”. Calloway says he is very excited to get to Louisville and thinks the program is about to really “take off”. Calloway’s mother said she “thought the game was really exciting and it was fun to see the Cards play like they did.” “I am big on academics and I think Derrick made the best decision for him in choosing Louisville and we are excited to go up there, I think on the 18^th for his official visit.”
Tomorrow at 1:00 pm EST the Army All American Bowl will be televised nationally and word is that the big win has all but secured Trinity’s James Quick to pledge his verbal commitment to the hometown Cardinals. Quick has been open about Louisville and Ohio State as his favorites for some time now but after seeing the way Teddy Bridgewater spread the ball around against a top defense like Florida, one would have to think that Quick took notice of that and can see that Coach Charlie Strong, Shawn Watson and the rest of the staff have the Cards primed for bigger things and a bright future. I’ve also heard some rumors that Trinity stud defensive end/linebacker, Jason Hatcher is now considered a “soft commit” to Southern California and might possibly switch his commitment to the Cardinals as well during the Army All American game.

(Could Jason Hatcher commit to the Cards? photo by highschool.rivals.com)

Stay tuned to Cardinal Dominance as there are sure to be more ripples from the Sugar Bowl win and we will bring them all to you as we get them.

Tags: All, American, Army, Bowl, Cardinals, De'Asian, Hatcher, James, Jason, Louisville, More…

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Permalink Reply by GO Yankees on January 5, 2013 at 7:08am

Great post and I agree.

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Permalink Reply by kittykilla on January 5, 2013 at 1:12pm

I hear Quick is leaning to Ohio State because of U of L's depth

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Permalink Reply by kittykilla on January 5, 2013 at 3:02pm

I am watching the Army all star game right now. Quick hasnt announce yet

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Permalink Reply by Shane Stovall on January 5, 2013 at 3:27pm

Quick just made it official but we already knew that was coming :) Still very exciting and Hatcher is next. He's not announcing at the game but likely will make it public after his official visit which I believe is Feb. 2

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Permalink Reply by cardfan75 on January 5, 2013 at 11:09pm

cards are on the rise!!! just got deeper at wide receiver

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Permalink Reply by GO Yankees on January 6, 2013 at 9:01am

BooYah!

Got Quick! Celebrating with a glass of Chocolate Milk.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Little on January 6, 2013 at 2:40pm

What has started off as a ripple which to me was the Cards beating Rutgers on National TV, which got the attention of the whole country with the way Teddy and the Cards played has now turned into a Tidal wave.Of course we Cardinal fans know but for little blue nation let's bring them up to speed just last week Coach Strong got the knod from a 4* star DT and just yesterday Quick just like Richardson has offers from the nations best and he choose the CARDS!It is also rumored that after USC's poor showing and the ify future of Lame Kiffin, that Hatcher may also commit to the Cards and he may be bringing a another 4-5* DB with him.On ESPN's front page it called Quick a "game changer", Coach Watson is going to be salivating thinking about the plays he can draw up for Teddy, and Coach Strong and Coach Bedford are finally going to have all the pieces they need to play the kind of blitzing defense they like to play.Tom Jurich said it best we have left uk in the rear view mirror, we are little brother no more WE ARE LIGHT YEARS AHEAD.(little blue nation) you can now return to the kiddies table now.

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Permalink Reply by GO Yankees on January 6, 2013 at 9:41pm

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Permalink Reply by Eric Little on January 7, 2013 at 8:07am

We just got another one, Trinty wideout/QB a top prospect in the class of 2014 just commited to the Cards this afternoon.Reggie Bonnafon who has played mostly wideout and backup QB for Trinty is going to become the starting QB for Trinty this season.The UL coaching staff is hopeing that he can do what Teddy did and make the transition from wideout to starting QB.It looks like another pipeline has been established in Jefferson County, another one for the #1 university in the state GO CARDS #L1C4.