Cards' Quick says 'bad judgment' led to tackle

University of Louisville receiver James Quick said Tuesday that his "bad judgment" allowed Clemson's Jayron Kearse to catch him at Clemson's 8-yard line in the waning moments of Saturday's game.

Quick caught a 15-yard pass from quarterback Will Gardner and raced another 58 yards before Kearse dragged him down. Louisville had four tries to score and reached Clemson's 1-yard line, but the Tigers held on and won 23-17.

The sophomore receiver, the fourth-fastest player on U of L's roster, said he shouldn't have been caught in the race for the end zone.

"It was just bad judgment on my part," Quick said. "He had a better angle on me than I thought he did and he made the tackle."

OL Jake Smith: Blocking is blocking

U of L offensive lineman Jake Smith isn't so sure Louisville's offensive line is struggling because of a scheme change on offense between Bobby Petrino and Charlie Strong.

Smith said that while some elements of the schemes translate and some don't, performances still come down to individual players and execution.

"You can analyze it as much as you want: Blocking is blocking," Smith said. "There are some differences there between (pro-style offense) and the spread, but otherwise you block and tackle and throw."

Safety Holliman midseason All-American

Louisville safety Gerod Holliman is the Cardinals' sole representative in ESPN's midseason All-American team, which was released on Tuesday after seven weeks of college football.

Holliman, a junior, leads the nation with seven interceptions and has a team-high nine pass breakups. He's also seventh on the team with 20 tackles and has a forced fumble.

ESPN, in picking him as one of the All-American team's two safeties, called Holliman the "breakout star" of Louisville's top-ranked defense.

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).