[shortsleeve47]

New coach of defending Big East champs says he's ready for challenge


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20078726/

AP
Updated: 2:34 a.m. CT Aug 2, 2007

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The line is buried somewhere on Steve Kragthorpe’s biography in the University of Louisville football media guide, squeezed between parentheses under the heading “Education.”
Ask Kragthorpe how a guy with an MBA from Oregon State ends up coaching football instead, and he shrugs his shoulders and says he doesn’t really see much difference between working for a shoe company and walking the sidelines in packed college stadiums during the fall.
“You’ve got to sell yourself,” said Kragthorpe in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press. “You’ve got to sell yourself and your program. I believe you’ve got to tailor your delivery so that the message is received. The delivery is more important than the message, because if you don’t deliver it properly, the message will never be absorbed.”
Kragthorpe, 42, has delivered the message over and over again to his players and the community since he was hired to replace Bobby Petrino in January: the coach may have changed, the expectations for the defending Big East champions who begin practice Thursday have not.

[Lefty Noob]

No doubt Kragthorpe has some big shoes to fill. I personally find myself wondering if there'll be any drop off from what Petrino did with this Louisville team. It may not show up this year, because a lot of these kids are still Petrino's kids. But in two or three seasons, will Kragthorpe have recruited well enough to keep this team in the Big East title hunt? I'm skeptical.

[shortsleeve47]

Good comment Chuck.
All I can tell you is that the AD has brought in quality coaches in all the athletic phases of the school and the success record can't be ignored.

Kragthorpe had offers to coach at other schools but held off for Louisville. He walked into a situation where the current players could have gone to other schools but
He sold them in his own way to encourage them to stay.

I live in Texas and he is already recruiting some from Texas. A commitment was made to Louisville from one of the top athletes of Dallas-Fort Worth area. Texas is not a usual recruiting area for Louisville, but now there will be some interest.

The junior college player of the year, Woody Turrene, was recruited by the same Defensive Coordinator who stayed after Petrino left. Half of Petrino's coaching staff stayed in Louisville after Petrino's departure because they liked Louisville. They are still the ones who recruited Petrino's players also and know their territory.

[Lefty Noob]

Interesting, thanks for that info. Sounds like they're in good shape as long as the staff remains in tact.