Football head coach Charlie Strong spoke with the media at his weekly football press conference on Monday, Sept. 26, about the Cardinals' upcoming contest against Marshall and reviewing what the team did on its bye week.
Head coach Charlie Strong spoke with the media at the weekly football press conference on Monday, Sept. 19, about the win over Kentucky and what the team will focus on during its bye week.
Playing Experience • A four-year letterwinner at safety for Central Arkansas
• Three-time All-Conference selection in football
• Two-time honoree in track and field
Louisville • Posted a 25-14 record at Louisville in three seasons with two bowl wins and a pair of BIG EAST titles (2011, 2012)
• Guided the Cardinals to an 11-2 record in 2012 -- the school's fourth 11-win season in school history
• Defeated third-ranked Florida 33-23 to win the 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl
• Led the Cardinals to a school-best 9-0 start before falling on the road at Syracuse
• Went 6-1 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in 2012
• Named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2010
• Inherited a team that won just 15 games in the three seasons before Strong was hired
• Posted identical 7-6 records in 2010 and 2011, including bowl game appearances in the Beef `O'Brady's Bowl in 2010 and the Belk Bowl
• After winning a combined two league games in 2008-09, Strong led the Cardinals to three BIG EAST victories in 2010, and five in 2011 and 2012
• After opening the season at 2-4 in 2011, the Cardinals rattled off wins in five of their last six games, including a win over nationally ranked West Virginia.
• Louisville also won its last two games of the year on the road to win a share of the BIG EAST title and qualify for the Belk Bowl.
• Guided true freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to win BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and a number freshman All-American accolades, while freshman guard Jake Smith became the first Cardinal player to be named a FWAA Freshman All-American
• Louisville also snapped its 10-game road league losing streak with a 28-20 win at Syracuse and a 40-13 victory over Rutgers to achieve bowl eligibility in 2010.
• Louisville defeated Southern Mississippi 31-28 in the 2010 Beef `O'Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla., after falling behind 14-0. It capped one of the best turnarounds in Division I football, improving by +3 games from the previous season.
• Guided eight BIG EAST performers in 2012 in first teamers Teddy Bridgewater, Mario Benavides, Calvin Pryor, DeVante Parker and Adrian Bushell, while Alex Kupper, Hakeem Smith and Preston Brown earned second team accolades
• Coached four first-team All-BIG EAST performers in 2010 in Bilal Powell, Johnny Patrick, Cameron Graham and Mark Wetterer, while Hakeem Smith was the BIG EAST Newcomer of the Year.
• Since coming to Louisville, Strong also emphasizes the importance of academics. His teams have been over a 2.5 GPA in every semester that he has been the head coach and saw plackicker Chris Philpott earn CoSIDA Academic All-District accolades.
• Became the 21st head coach at Louisville when he was officially introduced as the Cardinals' head coach on December 9, 2010
Florida • Won a pair of national titles at Florida, helping the Gators to national titles in 2009 with a win over Oklahoma and in 2007 with a dominating win over Ohio State
• Considered one of the top defensive coordinators in the nation after coaching the Gators from 2003-2009 and building some of the nation's top defenses
• Had four different tenures with the Gators from 2003-09; 1991-94 and 1988-89, and as a graduate assistant in 1983-84
• During his tenure at Florida, he has coached 13 All-Americans, a National Defensive Player of the Year, a Jack Tatum Award winner, two SEC Defensive Freshmen of the Year, two Thorpe Award finalists, two Nagurski Trophy finalists and the 2008 Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year
• Developed seven first-round NFL Draft picks and 18 players that were selected in the third round or higher (In 2010, cornerback Joe Haden was the seventh pick in the NFL Draft to the Cleveland Browns, while Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham and Major Wright were all selected in the first three rounds)
• In 2009, Strong guided one of the nation's top defensive units, finishing in the top five in four different statistical categories. UF was third in the nation in scoring defense (11.54 ppg), third in pass defense (151.46), fourth in total defense (253.08) and fifth in pass efficiency defense (93.91) in leading the Gators to a 12-1 record and a trip to the SEC Championship game for the third time in Strong's tenure as the defensive coordinator
• Named a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant coach for the second straight year, and is the only second three-time finalist in the history of the award
• Defense in 2008 ranked in the top 20 nationally in 10 statistical categories, including a school-record tying 26 interceptions that also tied for the most in the country that season. UF's scoring defense showed the third-largest improvement from the 2007 season to the 2008 season, finishing fifth in the nation by yielding only 12.9 points per game
• Most impressive output of the season came in the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game versus Oklahoma, which entered the contest with a nation's best 54.0 scoring average, holding Heisman-winning quarterback Sam Bradford to just 14 points and 363 total yards in Florida's 24-14 win to guide the Gators to their second national title in three years
• For his outstanding work in 2008, Strong was named a finalist for the Broyles Award for the second time in his career
• Coached a group of linebackers that included consensus first-team All-American and repeat first-team All-SEC performer Spikes, who was a finalist for the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Award
• Named one of the nation's top-25 best recruiters by Rivals.com for his part in inking the 2007 signing class that was ranked No. 1 by most outlets
• Vital part in helping Florida lead the SEC in rushing defense for the second straight season while surrendering only 103.3 yards per game, registering as the 10th-best nationally
• In 2007, he also helped develop Spikes into a consensus first-team All-SEC selection, marking the first time since 1999 that a freshman or sophomore linebacker earned Coaches' first-team All-SEC recognition
• In 2006, guided the Gator defense that limited opponents to a league-best 72.5 rushing yards per game.
• The Gators' run defense ranked fifth nationally in 2006, while they rated sixth in the nation in total defense with an average of 255.4 yards per contest.
• Under Strong's watch, Florida set a BCS record for fewest yards allowed in its national title bout with Ohio State, yielding only 82 yards to better the previous record by 72
• Three members of the UF defense earned All-America recognition and six players received All-SEC honors in 2006
• Since the 2003 season, Strong's defensive units at Florida allowed an average of 17.6 points per game, which ranked ninth in the country over that span
South Carolina • From 1999-2002, served as defensive coordinator at South Carolina
• Earned finalist honors for the Broyles Award in 2000 after he guided the Gamecocks to a top-20 national ranking in total defense twice
• The 2000 squad ranked sixth in the country in scoring defense after yielding just 15.8 points per game
Notre Dame • Spent four seasons at Notre Dame, overseeing the defensive line on a defense that registered a single-season school-record 41.5 sacks in 1997
• Helped lead the defensive unit to finish 11th in NCAA in total defense in 1996
• Defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn was selected with the 21st pick in the 1997 NFL Draft
Florida • Mentored Ellis Johnson who went on to be the 15th-overall pick by Indianapolis in the 1995 NFL Draft
• Johnson was named the National Defensive Player of the Year by CNN
• Coached three NFL Draft picks in Michael Brandon (12th round, 1992), Darren Mickell (Supplemental, 1994) and Kevin Carter (1st round, 1995)
• Defensive end Kevin Carter was named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team in 1991
• Carter went on to enjoy a 14-year NFL career and finished with 104.5 career sacks
Mississippi • Guided Eddie Small as a freshman who went on to finish 12th in program history with 1,593 receiving yards
• Team finished at 7-5 each year and appeared in a bowl game
Southern Illinois • Mentored Wesley Yates as a freshman and sophomore who went on to finish his career 13th in receiving yards (1,276) and 14th in receptions (82)
Texas A&M • Team finished at 10-2 and were SWC champs
• Aggies upset ninth-ranked Arkansas 10-6
Florida
• 1984 squad won nine straight games to close out season at 9-1-1
• 1983 team finished at 9-2-1 and beat Iowa in the Gator Bowl
