Louisville Getting Closer to Naming Starting Kicker & Punter

With the season less than two weeks away, the Louisville Cardinals are inching closer to naming a starter at both special teams positions - with a leader emerging at one of them.

While there have been hotly contested position battles across the roster for the Louisville football program, the Cardinals had a well-rounded idea as to who would be first on the depth chart considering they lost only three starters on each side of the ball.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for both starting kicker and punter. With the departures of starting place kicker Blanton Creque and punter Mason King from last year’s team due to graduation, Louisville has held an open competition at both special teams positions since the spring.

That competition has continued on throughout the preseason, as everyone has had a chance to run with first-string guys on the depth chart at some point during camp. With the season less than two weeks away, the Cardinals are getting closer to having both starters nailed down.

"All three (place kickers) have had their bright spots, that's for sure," tight end & special teams coach Stu Holt said in a teleconference following practice on Tuesday. "Right now, Brock (Travelstead) is in the lead but it's very competitive and we're not quite sure exactly where the depth chart is once we roll in on September 12."

Louisville signed Travelstead as part of the Class of 2020, and he arrived in January as an early enrollee. The Acworth, Ga native was ranked as high as the No. 5 kicker in the nation according to 247Sports.

But he doesn't have a stranglehold on the starter's role just yet. After stepping in for an injured Blanton Creque last year, Ryan Chalifoux also has a shot. The redshirt junior went 1-3 on field goal attempts & 22-25 on extra point attempts, as well as a seven yard touchdown pass against NC State. Holt also noted that sophomore James Turner has done well in camp.

As for the punter spot, that has mainly been a two horse race between freshman Ryan Harwell and sophomore Logan Lupo for the starting gig. Holt admits that Lupo's experience does give him an advantage, but the competition is still ongoing.

Another person who has a shot at the starting punter spot is Travelstead. Holt mentions that he was recruited to be a combo guy, and that he even has a shot to punt, place kick and kickoff. Holt lauds Travelstead's talent, doesn't want him to make him the universal special teams guy just yet.

"He is a talented guy, and those other guys are talented as well," he said. "Logan's had a really good camp, so has Ryan, so has JT. It's been fun to watch, we'll see how it shakes out."

Louisville will return to the practice fields on Wednesday, and are set to kickoff the season against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at home on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8:00pm on the ACC Network.

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