Sheldon Rankins Louisville vs. Florida 2013 Sugar Bowl. Photo by Mike Lindsay

Louisville Football Notebook 12/23/2014

Mark BlankenbakerDecember 24, 2014

Sheldon Rankins Will Return for Senior Season

The Cards got good news Tuesday afternoon when they learned that Junior Defensive End Sheldon Rankins will return for his senior season. Rankins would certainly have been drafted had he elected to go enter May’s 2015 NFL Draft and will return to try and improve his draft grade.

DT Sheldon Rankins, who leads the Cardinals in sacks and is second in tackles for loss, will also return to school next season

— LouisvilleFootball (@UofLFootball) December 23, 2014

Michael Dyer Ineligible for Bowl Game

We held our tongue on Michael Dyer not being with the team for about 3 weeks while focusing on an academic issue. Well today it became official. Michael Dyer will miss the Belk Bowl vs. Georgia and will finish his Cardinal career with 704 yards, 7 Touchdowns, and ZERO Interviews. Here is UofL’s Release: University of Louisville senior running back Michael Dyer was ruled academically ineligible and will miss the Belk Bowl versus Georgia on Dec. 30 in Charlotte, N.C.

Dyer, who transferred from Auburn in 2013, was the second-leading rusher for the Cardinals this season, appearing in nine games.

A native of Little Rock, Ark., Dyer rushed for 481 yards and five touchdowns this season. He missed the first three games of the season with a thigh injury. He rushed for 173 yards and a score versus NC State and 134 yards and three touchdowns against Florida State.

The Cardinals will depart for Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon.

Dahu Green Opens Recruitment

One of the more puzzling occurrences that happens in Football Recruiting is when Offensive players willingly decommit from Bobby Petrino. High Impact Wide Receiver Dahu Green did just that on Tuesday. We hope that Dahu makes the best decision for him.