Cards' receivers getting an earful from new assistant
By Eric Crawford
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
New offensive coordinator Paul Petrino is extremely vocal and demanding of U of L's receivers. ''That's just who . . . I've always been,'' he said.
Admission to University of Louisville's football practices is free, but it would be worth paying to get in just to watch offensive coordinator Paul Petrino coach the team's wideouts.
He can close in on a wide receiver as fast as most defensive backs. And the verbal hits he delivers, while loud and clear, have supplied a shot in the arm for the Cardinals' young receiving corps.
The animated younger brother of head coach Bobby Petrino always has done it this way. Veterans of U of L's practice fields who watched him coach the receivers and special teams in 1998 and '99 expected to see him flying around the field, in the faces of unsuspecting players -- and they weren't disappointed.
''Finish the play!'' he's known to scream.
There's no such thing as trotting out the end of a successful pass, even if the defense isn't pursuing. Petrino wants the wideouts going all-out. More than one wideout has been banished to run laps around the field as the practice goes on. .
Junior J.R. Russell, who has been the Cards' top receiver through much of spring practice, drew a quick response after taunting a teammate following a big gain early on yesterday. Petrino was on him in a heartbeat and ordered 20 up-and-downs. But he didn't stand and watch; he did them alongside Russell.
''We want them to make big plays, but you don't need to do that stuff,'' Petrino said. ''Expect to make that play and hand the ball to the official. Everybody will know you made a big play.''
U of L wide receivers sprint to their spots and even sprint off the field after practice, no matter how long the session has gone.
But generally, they sprint off with a smile.
After working under the mild-mannered Jim McElwain on former U of L coach John L. Smith's staff for three years, it has been culture-shock for some.
''A little,'' Russell said. ''But every coach has a little different style. The thing I think coach Petrino has done has really gotten guys focused and intense. I think we're starting to take on that personality, and I think that's a good thing for us.''
''Coach Petrino helped recruit me, so I knew about his style,'' junior Antoine Harris said. ''And I told guys what to expect. He challenges you, but he also motivates you to get better. He gets as excited about good plays as we do, and that makes it fun.''
Bobby Petrino smiled when asked about his younger brother's exuberance. After being introduced as offensive coordinator, Paul Petrino gave a brief talk that was so enthusiastic that his brother returned to the lectern and said in his best straight-man style, ''Now I'm fired up.''
''He runs all over the place out there and gives me a chance to be the good guy,'' Bobby Petrino said.
''There's a lot of ways to skin a cat and to be a good football coach,'' Paul Petrino said. ''That's just who I am and who I've always been.''
Bobby Petrino has coached his younger brother and worked alongside him before. But there's a special family reunion taking place now between the brothers and father, Bob Sr., who has been present throughout spring practice.
''We've always had success when we've been together, but this is kind of a dream come true,'' Paul Petrino said. ''Bob's getting his first chance to be a head coach, and I'm getting a chance to be an offensive coordinator. And I don't think there's anybody better that I could learn from.''
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