LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Not much fazes Louisville wide receiver Scott Long.
The senior has endured a pair of potentially career-threatening injuries in his star-crossed time with the Cardinals, and done so with grace and patience that has won over his teammates.

Long credited much of his demeanor to a pair of books written by former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. Long was so moved by one of his motivational works: “Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance,” that he organized weekly meetings during the summer where he and his teammates would focus on a chapter and the lessons that can be learned from it.

“Tony Dungy gave us great insight on … how to be a better person, how to be a better man,” Long said. “It gave us the opportunity as a football team to grown and trust one another. We were able to be vulnerable in front of one another and be transparent.”
And it also caught Dungy’s attention.

Dungy visited the Cardinals on Tuesday, giving them a motivational talk about dealing with tough times. There’s plenty to go around these days for Louisville (3-5). The Cardinals travel to West Virginia on Saturday amid speculation that coach Steve Kragthorpe’s job is on the line.

It’s a place Dungy has been before. He lost his first give games as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996.

“You have to dig deep and stay focused,” Dungy said. “My team in 1996, we lost our first game and eight of our first nine, but really that’s where the groundwork lay for that 2002 Super Bowl team. Those guys stayed determined, they stayed the course and they stayed focus. At the end we got it going, we won some games and developed some momentum for the following year.”

It won’t be easy for the Cardinals, who finish off the season with road games against the Mountaineers and South Florida and home games against Syracuse and Rutgers.