Cards Land ‘Prized Prospect’

The University of Louisville football team has secured a verbal from Roy Philon, a defensive lineman from Lexington Bryan Station who was heralded by the Courier-Journal last month as “one of the state’s prized prospects.”

The know-it-alls among us are sure to question why Philon is signing on with Coach Steve Kragthorpe’s team, thinking that the major reason would be early playing time, and lots of it. Well, think again. We have it on good authority that Louisville has been his favorite football team since he was a youngster.

While an early start is not assured, his talent level could quickly push him to the forefront. The C-J stats from his senior season are impressive.

“Philon, who runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, played defensive end, defensive tackle and running back for the Defenders. He made 52 tackles, including 14 for losses. Five of those were sacks, and he forced two fumbles and broke up two passes. As a running back, Philon needed only 10 carries to amass 220 yards and seven touchdowns.”

ESPN Scout gave him a respectable appraisal as well:

“Philon is a tough hard-nosed kid in the trenches. He moves around the line a bit in high school and plays a 3-4 end, but is likely more of a true interior player at the college level. He is a thickly built kid who will need to add some more bulk. If he is about the 6-foot-4 he is listed at then he should not have much problem getting to that 290-300 pound range. He will flash some solid quickness off the ball. Does a good job of being able to get to the shoulder of a blocker and power his way into the gap. Displays solid raw strength. He can be a vicious tackler who has a WWE flair to him. You would like to see him not leave his feet as much, but he likes to slam ball carriers to the ground …”

Why does the name of former Cardinal terror Michael Josiah come to mind? No comparison intended but it would be good to have another one, without Josiah’s challenges.

Aggressive football recruits wanted, needed and welcomed at Louisville.