As I made my way to Frisco to cover the Elite 11 and The Opening, I was very anxious to see how Hudson Card stacked up against some of the best quarterbacks in the country. It’s always interesting to me to see how guys show up and compete in these kinds of settings, since they are being saddled with groups of wide receivers that they don’t have any chemistry with, and they are going to get very intensive instruction from Trent Dilfer and his staff.
Last year for Lake Travis, Card made the full-time transition to quarterback for the Cavaliers, and he responded by producing 3,543 yards and 50 touchdowns through the air, while also chipping in with 619 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground. I’d say that the transition is going pretty well so far. When you put up numbers like that during your first season as a quarterback, you are going to have plenty of eyes on you going forward to see what you do for an encore.
To say Card acquitted himself nicely during the Elite 11 and 7 on 7 competition would be putting it mildly. The Texas commit was consistently listed as one of the top two quarterbacks in the competition on the daily rankings that were published, and he also led his team to the 7 on 7 finals on the final day of the competition.
Horn Sports was able to catch up with Card following the Pro Day portion of the Elite 11 workout to pick his brain on the Elite 11 and some potential recruiting targets for the weekend.
“I mean, it feels great. I mean, it’s been a dream, one, since I was little to just come out here and just have fun—just compete with other guys—the best in the country. So, it’s always fun being out here and being with them.”
When asked about what stood out to him following day one of the event, Card pointed out the level of detail the staff got into about particular things that could help them.
“I mean, I’ve learned a lot—all the meetings. Even coach goes more in depth with like just how your body works and how to prevent injuries and stuff like that. And even this pro day, I think it’s pretty cool. Never been to anything like that, so. I think that was a good experience.”
While Card was out there to compete with the other top signal callers, he also was just out there taking in the experience and trying to have fun.
“Yeah, I mean, I just try to make every throw as best as I could; just have fun with it. I try not to put too much pressure on myself, but yeah, it was fun. That one guy got like a crazy score—like the highest ever. It was awesome, but yeah, it was fun.”
On the recruiting side of things, Card was paired up with five star wide receiver and Texas target Johnny Wilson for the 7 on 7 competition. While you won’t see Card being super aggressive with his pitch, he definitely had plans of getting in Wilson’s ear during their stay in Frisco.
“Oh yeah, definitely. I always try to. I’m going to try to get him our way for sure.”
And what is Card’s pitch to Wilson and other recruits?
“I mean, we’re in the right direction. I mean, obviously, we’re getting better every year. Austin’s one of the best cities to live in. There’s so much stuff to do, great education, so you’re set after football even if that doesn’t work out later on. So, I mean, just stuff like that, and we’re heading in the right direction.”
That seems like a solid pitch that will continue to get stronger and resonate with more recruits if the Longhorns can continue to build upon last season’s Sugar Bowl victory. Having a player of Card’s status to deliver that message certainly can’t hurt.
