CARDINALS

Senior WRs can step up in Parker's absence

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj

They didn't start preseason camp with this responsibility.

Sure, University of Louisville senior receivers Kai De La Cruz, Eli Rogers, Matt Milton and Michaelee Harris approached 2014 with the appropriate gusto ahead of what will be their last college football season. Same goes for senior Gerald Christian, who talked last month about being the best tight end in the country.

There's no doubt that sophomore receiver James Quick, a hometown product by way of Trinity High, felt some pressure to live up to his high recruiting rankings after a tough freshman year.

And naturally redshirt sophomore quarterback Will Gardner, in replacing Teddy Bridgewater, wants to make a fast start as the new Louisville signal caller.

But they all had DeVante Parker, a 6-foot-3, 208-pound security blanket with good hands, big-play ability and first-round NFL draft potential.

Now, with Parker facing up to eight weeks of recovery time after undergoing foot surgery for a broken fifth metatarsal on Monday, the weight is heavier than expected on each of the aforementioned players, the key figures in U of L's passing attack this fall.

"You're never going to replace a guy like DeVante with just one guy," U of L coach Bobby Petrino said Monday.

It has been well-documented in recent days how big of a loss Parker is for an offense that seems primed to post serious numbers this fall. Petrino's reputation as an offensive mastermind, with his right-hand man Garrick McGee in tow, preceded him.

Petrino's teams at U of L, Arkansas and Western Kentucky averaged 30-plus points in eight of the nine seasons, and only once in that time span did a Petrino team total fewer than 5,500 yards of offense.

There's still firepower this year, even with Parker's injury and ongoing uncertainty toward running back Michael Dyer's health after suffering a quadriceps contusion on Aug. 16. The offensive plans, at least for the next two months, will just exclude "No. 9," as Petrino calls Parker.

U of L will reevaluate its script of first-series plays ahead of the season opener at 8 p.m. Monday against Miami at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Petrino said the script "probably will" change without Parker, and it'll definitely be tweaked if both Parker and Dyer miss the game.

"It'll change things around," Petrino said. "I don't know that 'restrict' is the right word, but when you miss a guy like that, it'll be different."

The five receivers charged with filling in for Parker had 81 of the team's 311 receptions last fall. Christian adds another 28, and the returning running backs accounted for 27 more catches.

Quick is the fourth-fastest player on the team, just behind Parker, and Christian has the team's biggest hands. Rogers was third on the team in receptions last season, with 44, and averaged 12.2 yards per catch.

The other options are solid, reliable guys, though Christian, Quick and Rogers will be the focal points.

U of L held a "mock game" on Friday night, with Louisville coaches presenting "all the situations that could come up in the game," Petrino said. In that scrimmage, Gardner did a good job of spreading the ball around, Petrino added.

That's important for a team that'll raise a quarterback.

"Our offense is still the same," Gardner said. "Guys are going to get wide open in our game plan. We're still going to play football."

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

UP NEXT

Miami at Louisville

8 p.m. Monday, ESPN