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The Hoagland Team at RE/MAX Premier Properties Presents: The 3-2-1

This is your 3-2-1, a content item that will appear weekly for the rest of the year.

We'll breakdown three things we learned that week, two questions we have and give one prediction.

The content is brought to you by The Hoagland Team at RE/MAX Premier Properties.

We are proud to partner with Matthew Hoagland and his team as they will be the presenting sponsor of this weekly feature.

Matthew has helped my family through the process of buying and selling houses, and he can do the same for you.

Contact Matthew:

502-297-1797

or

matthewhoagland@outlook.com

As a reminder, be sure to mention CardinalSports.com when you contact him.

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THREE THINGS WE LEARNED:

1 -- Arizona State transfer Jermayne Lole took his first official visit to Louisville.

The one gripe that's been the most consistent from the Louisville fan base during Scott Satterfield's tenure is the lack of size and physicality across the defensive line.

Fans have watched arch-rival Kentucky power over Louisville's defense time and time again, and the overwhelming response has been: "get bigger on the defensive line"

Fast forward to right now. Enter Jermayne Lole.

Louisville hasn't had a stud nose tackle since when? Sheldon Rankins? DeAngelo Brown?

Either way, it's been a long time since the middle of the defense has had a dominant presence.

Lole would change that, and right away.

The Arizona State transfer, at 6-foot-2, 305-pounds, would be the biggest roster addition of the off-season.

Had he not missed 2021 with an injury he would be preparing for NFL training camp.

For his career he's played in 28 games and amassed 123 tackles, 20.0 for a loss, 11.0 sacks, eight pass deflections and two forced fumbles.

Lole visited Louisville over the weekend, and all indications are that the visit went as well as it possible could.

Lole tweeted "it's different out here", a tweet that caught the attention of CardNation, and for good reason.

We will continue to monitor the situation, and will update the boards whenever it is warranted.

2 -- Kenny Payne appears on the ACC Network's 'Packer and Durham'.

This past week, from May 9th to May 12th, ACC personnel conducted a series of meetings in Amelia Island, Florida to discuss a variety of topics.

Kenny Payne was in attendance, and made an appearance on 'Packer and Durham' and talked about a number of things.

"It's been a lot, but it's been fun to go back to where it all started," Payne said when asked about his first six weeks on the job.

"We're trying to bring back the winning culture to where it used to be."

Payne looked back at his introductory press conference and told Packer and Durham what it meant to him.

"It was overwhelming and very humbling for that many people to come out and show love and support."

Asked about Nolan Smith joining his staff, Payne eluded to the impact that Derek Smith had on him.

"Derek (Smith) changed my life, and he was very instrumental in everything that I've ever tried to do. His voice is still with me every day. To bring Nolan on board is sort of surreal."

Payne summarized how he's going to build this program back up, specifically commenting on his recruiting philosophy.

"I want kids to be around people that are winners. We are going to recruit high-character talent and high-end talent. The character part is first."

If you haven't seen the interview, I highly recommend that you do so.

3 -- Louisville baseball proved they can make a post-season run.

Dan McDonnell's club lost two out of three to nationally ranked Virginia Tech this weekend.

However, there are things to be encouraged about as post-season play is rapidly approaching.

Jared Poland shut down one of the best lineups in the country on Friday, only allowing one run, giving the Cardinals a series-opening win.

Louisville has found an ace, and that's vital to this team's success moving forward.

Shortstop Christian Knapczyk has missed the last few games with an injury, and freshman Brandon Anderson has stepped up in a big way in his absence.

Louisville has established more depth in the field with Brandon Anderson emerging.

The pitching is turning the corner as Carter Lohman and Carson Liggett produced quality starts on Saturday and Sunday, but the offense couldn't get it going.

Louisville has given themselves an opportunity to host post-season play, and a series win against Virginia this weekend would theoretically cement that.

TWO QUESTIONS:

1 -- How many more players will Kenny Payne add to this year's roster?

Things have been quiet since Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Devin Ree committed to the Cardinals.

Payne received a pair of commitments early on in the process, and things have come to a screeching halt ever since.

With four scholarships available, Louisville almost certainly needs to add two guards, at a minimum.

Stop me if you've heard this before: El Ellis is the only ball-handler on the roster.

You would think that Payne will use all 13 scholarships to bolster the back-court, but a lot of the best available guards are off the board.

With the summer semester starting at the end of May, you would think some of this will be cleared up sooner rather than later.

2 -- When will the rest of the staff be finalized?

Payne has his three assistant coaches. We know that much. What we don't know is who else will be a part of his staff.

In the Packer and Durham interview, Payne hinted at another staffer who has won a championship joining him at Louisville.

Justin Perez still hasn't been officially announced by the university.

That's two additional staff members that are on the way.

We are also still awaiting the hiring of a strength and conditioning coach.

While the three assistant spots are filled, there are quite a few more pieces that need to be added to the puzzle.

ONE PREDICTION: Jermayne Lole will commit to Louisville.

The Arizona State transfer still has three more official visits lined up, and to major suitors, but, I think Louisville wins out here and adds a game-changing player to the defense.

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