Thoughts on Strong's Monday presser

Strong's press conference this afternoon was fascinating -- I learned a lot of things about the team I didn't know before. Among the highlights, memorable quotes and observations:

-- Strong said several times that the team is still searching for an identity. It's doesn't sound like something that's going to be formed in practice, however. Strong wants his team to develop a game-identity of being very aggressive, offensively and defensively.

-- Heading into the game, his biggest concern is that Kentucky has beaten us three straight years. A lot of respect for UK; he mentioned more than once that they've gone to a bowl four years running.

-- Adam Froman may have won the starting position at quarterback (which Strong again said was due to his leadership abilities), but "what it comes down to," in Strong's words, is how the Cards run the football.

-- Strong loves Bilal Powell. More than once, he described the desire to make Powell "the face of this football program." He recalled seeing Powell play in high school and that he dominated that game -- that's the mentality that Strong wants Powell to get back to. Bilal has come into his own as a leader but is quiet by nature. Strong said that as far back as spring practice (I think that's when he said it was), he was so impressed with Powell that he told him, "I'm gonna make you the face of this program. (But) I'm gonna make you talk; you're gonna have to."

-- Position-wise, the biggest improvement from spring to fall practice has been at wide receiver, in part due to the arrival of JUCO transfer Josh Bellamy.

-- Many concerns on defense, the secondary in particular. Strong wants to use a lot of movement to try and offset how undersized we are. On both sides of the ball, he emphasized the importance of "bouncing back," not letting "one bad play lead to another."

-- Regarding the defensive gameplan against Kentucky, Louisville will concentrate on containing Locke on the inside, preventing him from escaping to the outside where he does the most damage. Equally important will be slowing down Cobb's interior running. Strong seemed to deeply respect Cobb's ability to "ground it out" and "keep the chains moving" with up-the-middle runs. It dawns on me how much he is already familiar with Kentucky's attack, from coaching against them every year at Florida.

-- Listening to Strong describe his efforts to facilitate seniors connecting with freshmen, it became obvious how well he understands, and buys into, the idea that these are collegiate student athletes, as opposed to athletes who happen to be in college and go to class as a condition of their being here.

-- Regarding the now infamous "wasted practice" from last Wednesday, Strong said they ran the same practice on Friday to make up for the lackluster effort and did a much better job.

-- Strong has apparently instituted a "Leadership Council" on the team, twelve players he can rely on to step up at the needed moment.

-- Asked if he would give a speech to the players before the game, Strong responded that "Coach Holtz (at South Carolina) used to say that players don't remember anything once the game begins and they get hit." He didn't seem intent on delivering a barnburner before the game, but suggested he will use the time to check his players' mentality, make certain that everyone is focused. Not really surprising; Strong's at his best speaking off the cuff anyway, and no one will question his ability to motivate his players.