Louisville football | Speedster Cornelius Sturghill moved from cornerback to receiver, Bobby Petrino says

Cornelius Sturghill was recently moved from cornerback to wide receiver — the position where he began his Louisville football career — in an effort to infuse the offense with more speed, coach Bobby Petrino said on Saturday.

Sturghill, who is maybe the fastest player on the team, began camp rotating with senior cornerback Trumaine Washington on the first-team defense, but Petrino said Washington and senior Ronald Walker are now manning that position, with true freshman Russ Yeast also positioned to see playing time.

All-American candidate Jaire Alexander is the starter at the other cornerback spot.

Sturghill ran a remarkable 4.20-second 40-yard dash on the track in the spring of 2016, but he missed all of last season after being shot in the foot in his hometown of Memphis. He returned in the spring and ran a 4.38 40, saying he coasted the last half as a precaution.

"(Sturghill) is really fast and kind of gives us a different look there (at receiver)," Petrino said. "We just needed more speed (on offense) and to get a faster guy over there, not to say he wasn't doing a good job at corner. ...

"He came here wanting to be a receiver, and that's really why we got him. That's really what he has in his heart the most. We really felt he was doing a good job at corner, but at receiver, he was a different flavor than everyone else we have, so (the move) would really give us something to stretch the field."

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Petrino said Sturghill needs some time to adjust back to the offense but that he's hopeful he'll be an immediate contributor because he has "great hands" and can adjust to the ball well.

Sturghill, who flipped from Wisconsin to Louisville on national signing day in 2014, was rated three stars and the nation's No. 96 receiver that year by ESPN.com. He had 51 receptions for 961 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior at Memphis' Melrose High School.

As for the cornerbacks, Petrino for the second time this week praised the 6-foot-1, 196-pound Walker.

"Ronald has really had a good camp, done a great job," Petrino said. "He's physical, a good cover guy and a really good tackler, so he's taken a step forward."

Petrino also said true freshman Anthony Johnson (6-1, 171) has been impressive with his length and speed, positioning him perhaps to be U of L's No. 5 overall corner.

►U of L scrimmaged Saturday morning with the No. 1 offense facing the No. 2 defense and vice versa, and the team simulated game conditions, including using a game clock and having the coaches stay on the sidelines.

It was the last official practice of preseason camp with the fall semester beginning on Monday. Petrino said the team will have Sunday and most of Monday off.

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►Petrino is excited about the receiving and run-after-the-catch ability of primary running backs Reggie Bonnafon, Malik Williams and Jeremy Smith, who collectively caught a lot of balls in the scrimmage.

"If we can (throw to the running backs) that's just going to open everything else up for us," the coach said.

"They're really good receivers," he continued. "They can run different routes. We can do different alignments with them. ... I think (quarterback) Lamar (Jackson) has a really good feel for them. The greatest thing about all of them is they can open their hips and catch the ball with their hands. They're an impressive group as far as catching the ball out of the backfield. That'll be something that really helps our offense."

►Along those lines, Petrino said Jackson had a "really good day" in the scrimmage and praised him for showing patience, making the right progression reads and correctly dumping the ball off to the backs when he needed to.

►Petrino said senior Charles Standberry and junior Micky Crum are both seeing time as first-team tight ends. He said former Texas A&M transfer Jordan Davis is also practicing well, though he missed the scrimmage with a tweaked ankle. True freshman Kemari Averett, whose potential has had Petrino excited all summer, was better in this Saturday's scrimmage than last week's but that he is still acclimating to the pace of practice and number of signals he must learn.

►Petrino said true freshman C.J. Avery has been playing both the "star" outside linebacker spot, which is hybrid linebacker/safety/nickel back position, in U of L's base defense and inside linebacker when the Cards go to a dime package.

"I've been really impressed with him," Petrino said. "He picks things up really quick, and he's a great tackler."

Though senior Stacy Thomas and freshman Dorian Etheridge still appear to be the likely starting inside linebackers, Petrino said London Iakopo and Isaac Stewart have been performing well, too.

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►Petrino gave a positive review of the camp of redshirt freshman and backup quarterback Jawon Pass, who, the coach said, has "really improved from a year ago."

"He understands what's going on," Petrino said. "He's had some really good days with the type of accuracy and completion percentage that we want and only a couple days where we didn't think he was focused and doing what he needs to do. I've got a lot of confidence in him. He certainly knows the offense, has all the respect of the players around him."

►Petrino said top wide receivers Jaylen Smith and Seth Dawkins were strong in the scrimmage, with Dawkins having his best day of camp.

"He elevated, and he catches it up high," Petrino said. "He did a good job running after the catch, as did Jaylen."

►Perhaps we'll see a new look from Petrino on the sidelines this year. He said he's been trying some prescription sunglasses after having never worn glasses or sunglasses during practices or games in his entire career.

"You have to try new things in life, right?" he joked.