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With 17 returning starters from last year’s 9-3 campaign, it seems unlikely new faces in the Cardinals’ lineup would see any major playing time. However, as U of L head football coach Bobby Petrino and his staff have gradually vaulted the program to another level, the recruiting classes have followed suit. Several players from this year’s freshman class are simply too talented to spend time on the bench and will be given the opportunity to come in and contribute right away.While the offensive side of the ball is stacked with talent, most of the first year players will make an impact on the defensive side of the ball. Freshmen Deantwan “Peanut” Whitehead and Aundre Henderson will see some significant playing time, compensative for the loss of Elvis Dumervil and Montavious Stanley on the line.”I do think that those young defensive linemen have a chance to get into a position and contribute,” Petrino said. “I was very impressed with a lot of them actually.”Whitehead comes in as one of the highest rated recruits ever to sign with U of L. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound defensive end combines a huge frame with speed (4.6 off the end) which was known to wreak havoc in the backfields against opposing teams the last three years in Alabama high school football. Also expected to contribute immediately, Henderson, at 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds is ” a big guy that can really move, and we’ve got him at defensive end right now,” Petrino said. Henderson started all four years at Manual High School in Louisville and was considered the second best player overall in Kentucky.The secondary is another place, despite returning all four starters, in which a couple freshmen can come in and play right away. In addition to signing Whitehead as safety, Brandon Heath was another highly-touted recruit, ranked by ESPN as one of the top-100 high school players in the nation. He was similarly listed by several sources as a top-ten player in the football-talented state of Florida.Latarrius Thomas is another Florida native who chose to venture north to play football. Originally a wide receiver, he is being converted to safety at U of L.Despite a player’s impressive recruiting rankings, the athlete must prove himself on the field, said U of L co-defensive coordinator Mike Cassity. “Our philosophy here has been if a young guy can come in and contribute and help this team win football games then we’ll sure give him that opportunity,” he said.Though Henderson, Whitehead, Heath and Thomas are the new names to look out for this year, Petrino stresses the ones who can mesh well with the Cardinal program will see the most time. “The guys who play the earliest, you can tell them one time and they can picture it, see somebody else do it, then simulate and do it,” he said.
