Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater could be without two of his top wide receivers Friday, when the Cardinals play host to Central Florida in a key AAC contest.
Juniors DeVante Parker, the Cardinals' best receiver, and Kai De La Cruz will be game-time decisions, Louisville coach Charlie Strong said. Parker missed last Thursday's win over Rutgers with a shoulder injury; De La Cruz suffered a pulled groin against Rutgers.
While Parker and De La Cruz normally play the "X" receiver position, they can be on the field at the same time. If both have to sit out Friday, Louisville's depth becomes a concern because offensive coordinator Shawn Watson will have to shift responsibilities among several wide receivers.
Parker (6-foot-3, 209 pounds) is one of the top dozen or so receivers nationally. He has excellent size, and though he doesn't have elite speed, he is quick and can get off press coverage. He has learned to use his size better this season and is a big-time weapon in the red zone because of a vertical jump that has been measured at 41 inches.
Parker is second on the team with 21 receptions and leads the team with six touchdown catches. He is averaging 17.9 yards per catch.
De La Cruz (6-0, 186) is the fourth-leading wide receiver, with 15 catches. But he leads the Cardinals with an 18.1-yards-per-catch average and is tied for second with three TD receptions.
UCF's secondary can be exploited. Junior strong safety Clayton Geathers (6-2, 207) is a big hitter with NFL potential, but the Knights have a young and inexperienced group of cornerbacks. The best thing for the Knights is for Parker to miss the game; they have no one who can handle him.
As for Louisville, if both wide receivers miss the game, junior tight end Gerald Christian -- a transfer from Florida -- becomes a more important weapon. Christian (6-3, 242) is a physical target with the speed to get deep.
Bridgewater was 21-of-31 for 310 yards, two touchdowns and an interception last week -- excellent numbers for most quarterbacks but somewhat ho-hum for Bridgewater.
"He didn't make some throws, but I guess every time he goes out we expect him to be perfect, and he's not going to be perfect," Louisville coach Charlie Strong told reporters. "We have raised the standard, and he plays up to what we want him to play at."
There were more than 20 NFL scouts at the Rutgers game, but Strong dismissed the idea that the pressure of playing in front of that many NFL types bothered Bridgewater.
"I don't think Teddy gets rattled with that," Strong said.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
