The Louisville Kings might have the most anticipated debut of any spring football team in recent history. Since their inaugural announcement a few months ago, Kings fans have been dying to get to know what this team is going to look like – and if they’ll make a run to the Championship.
Yesterday, we had the privilege of attending a joint practice between the Louisville Kings and the Houston Gamblers. The two teams ran drills and worked together, to assess talent between the two.
In this piece, we’ll be taking a closer look at some of our observations from this practice.
Quarterbacks
It’s pretty clear who Chris Redman envisions at QB1: Jason Bean. He’s had high praise for Jason since day one. This is not at all surprising when you watch Bean on the field. He’s got some development to do as a passer (i.e. quicker decision making), but Jason’s a raw, natural talent at the position. His mobility was causing all sorts of trouble for Houston’s defense. We watched Bean use his legs multiple times to extend plays and pick up yardage.
As for the backups, both Chandler Rogers and N’Kosi Perry split the rest of the reps. Rogers primarily threw to the 2’s. The two are mobile quarterbacks that fit Louisville’s system, but will need to show some more development in order to take snaps this season.
Skills Positions
At running back, we didn’t get to see a lot of James Robinson, or Benny Snell who was back and forth between the sidelines. Ian Wheeler was very impressive, though. The young back has tremendous vision, and can catch coming out of the backfield. He’s shifty, with explosive speed.
Jaden Shirden might be on the outside looking in, with the signing of Robinson. He had a drop during joint drills – a small mistake, but those are the types of little details that could prevent him from a spot on the 50 man roster.
At wide receiver, former Bengals wideout Kwamie Lassiter II did not participate due to an injury. The Kings are loaded at the position, though. Lucky Jackson, no surprise, was actively finding ways to get open in one on one’s. Jonathan Adams’ size and strong hands were also on display.
We also noticed Tarik Black’s speed. On multiple occasions, he blew past defenders – but didn’t receive the target.
Tight end Jalen Wydermyer quietly had a strong outing as well. He showcased his ability to catch the football, and find the soft spots in zone coverage. Last year with the Michigan Panthers, all five of Jalen’s receptions were first downs.
Defensive Takeaways
A cornerback who has been having an excellent camp so far is Eric Garror. He took on tough assignments throughout the practice against Houston, thriving under the pressure. A few days ago, Eric took a pick six to the house as well.
Cam Dantzler is another cornerback who showed intensity and energy. He’s in a position to start for this team, alongside Bryce Hall – the NFL veteran. Both flashed with strong coverage and physical technique during one on ones. Mekhi Garner is another corner who had excellent reps with multiple passes defensed. He’s also been taking some snaps at safety.
Kings Defensive Coordinator Jamie Sharper had high praise for his secondary unit:
“When we looked at guys, we wanted to bring in some long corners, who had top end speed. Guys that can play the ball when it’s in the air. We can teach the rest of it: underneath coverage, how to play things in zone, how to play it in four, or two – but we wanted guys who were sure about going up for the ball in 50-50 situations. We have guys like Cam and Mekhi, Bryce, Garror…they can all make plays when the ball is in the air.”
Jamie was up front with us about their emphasis on zone coverage. It’s his first season as a Defensive Coordinator in the UFL, and we should expect the Kings to run a mix of zone coverages (Cover two, cover four) throughout the year.
At linebacker, it was a mixed bag for the Kings. Steele Chambers, a standout last year with the Showboats, had a tough time covering in one on one’s. On the other hand, though, Jaheim Thomas made the play of the day with an interception against Hunter Dekkers:
Up front, the Kings are loaded with NFL veterans. Christopher Hinton and Josiah Bronson lead the way on the interior, while Jaylon Allen, Daniel Grzesiak, and Xavier Carlton all flashed coming off the edge. Daniel was consistently putting pressure on Houston’s quarterbacks, while Carlton notably made an excellent play on Yarns up the middle.
“Our D-Tackles are mean. We were getting some guys who were on the fence about signing futures deals, but wanted to get film and came to the UFL. These are players who are proven players, we just need to give them the right techniques to showcase them in packages. Hinton, Jaylon Allen, Stokes – those guys are big boys. They play physical. That’s exactly what I’m looking for.”- DC Jamie Sharper
Special Teams
We didn’t get to see Tanner Brown attempt any kicks, but the punt team was in action. Mac Brown looked great, with a couple of huge punts during the joint practice. Additionally, new long snapper Jordan Silver is sharp as a tack. There’s a reason why he was once one of the nation’s top long snappers – he’s incredibly accurate.
When it came to punt returns, we saw Lucky Jackson, Eric Garror, and Lynn Bowden Jr. all taking reps for the Kings.
Final Thoughts
It’s safe to say that Jamie Sharper and the Kings are enjoying this process of figuring out their identity. We spoke with Sharper post-practice, who is getting acclimated to Redman’s system:
“It’s been great. The guys are all professionals. We picked guys who had some NFL experience, that way we could teach them our schemes that we’re trying to implement. As the DC, I’m happy we got guys who have that professional experience. Now it’s just about teaching them Championship technique, which I know about having worked with Vic Fangio, Patrick Ram…we’ve got a long ways to go, but we’re building. Having former Ravens players here on staff helps out, guys that know what it takes to be a Championship team.”
The Louisville Kings have a couple more weeks before cutdowns need to be made, on March 19th. With the amount of talent this roster features – it’s going to be tough for this staff to make those decisions.
What are your thoughts on where the Louisville Kings stand right now as a team? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
