Louisville football’s decision to not bring in another quarterback will either be a brilliant move or devastating decision.
Though his second season as the starting quarterback for Louisville football didn’t match the first, redshirt junior Malik Cunningham once again proved he’s a capable college quarterback.
Throwing for 2,615 yards and 20 touchdowns to go along with 609 yards rushing and 7 more touchdowns, Cunningham wasn’t as spectacular as he was in 2020, struggling a lot with turnovers. However, there were a lot of factors that caused that. Despite those numbers, Louisville’s offense was still explosive. It just happened to mostly be in losses.
There was and still is room for pause, however.
Cunningham will enter the offseason as the starting quarterback, there’s no debating that. However, the moves made this offseason are setting up interesting dynamics at the position in both the short-term as well as long-term. Or, should I say the lack of moves.
Louisville has made some additions this offseason at quarterback. Some traditional. Some not-so-traditional. The quarterback room will have a much different vibe in 2021 but the bigger question will be about 2022 and beyond.
Ramifications on 2021 for Louisville football
Creating competition at the quarterback position is a must this offseason, as I wrote last week in part one of my Louisville football offseason priorities series.
That will be much harder to do following the losses of freshman Tee Webb and redshirt senior Jawon Pass, who both opted to transfer for more playing time. That leaves just junior Evan Conley and incoming freshman T.J. Lewis to compete with Cunningham heading into 2021. That could be an issue.
They won’t be alone. There’s also incoming transfer, Shai Werts, a former quarterback from Georgia Southern who announced his intentions to transfer to Louisville this week.
Werts is a dynamic player who single-handedly accounted for nearly 7,000 yards and 68 touchdowns thus far in his career. That may seem like good news (and it definitely is) but after playing three years in the triple option-like offense, Werts is likely headed towards a position switch. It’s been reported he’ll play wide receiver, another group where help is needed.
Werts is legit, but he’s not an ACC quarterback, regardless of his statistics. Moving to receiver makes a ton of sense, and actually helps Cunningham and the offense out in a ton of ways. Still, it leaves room for doubt at the QB spot.
What happens with only one starting quarterback?
It doesn’t appear there are any remaining scholarships for 2021, meaning the only other quarterbacks will be Conley and Lewis.
Lewis is a three-star recruit, who by all accounts appears to be a project/development type quarterback. His athleticism and raw abilities are undeniable, but it’s unlikely he plays a major role as a freshman.
We know what Conley is as he enters his junior season. When thrown into action he’s played like an above-average back-up. In two seasons he’s completed 58% of his passes for 661 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
What does that mean? Well, it’s pretty simple. The decision to have Cunningham as the only starting-caliber quarterback in 2021 is interesting to say the least. But this decision also has major ramifications for the future as well.
As for the short-term, there won’t be anyone capable of pushing for Cunningham’s job – which could be a big move. We all think (at least for the most part) that Malik is capable of becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC. But not having anyone to fall back on should there be a long-term injury or more turnover issues is a major red flag.
Knowing that 2021 will be the final season for Cunningham also means there is currently no succession plan for the future.
Unless…
Ramifications on 2022 for Louisville football
Here’s where the decision to bring in Werts and not a transfer with a few years of eligibility remaining actually makes sense.
Louisville football’s coaching staff has done a good job of positioning themselves with elite level quarterbacks in the class of 2022. In fact, there are three four-star recruits who the Cards have a legitimate chance to land.
The staff has positioned themselves in a way where they can lead their recruiting pitch with immediate playing time, unlike years past. With Cunningham exhausting all eligibility, and Conley/Lewis both being limited that makes the path to starting much easier for an incoming freshman.
It’s clear that Satterfield and company have yet to land “their guy” at quarterback. That could change in 2022.
A.J. Duffy (5th best PRO QB according to 247 Sports), Sam Horn (4th best PRO QB), and Gavin Wimsatt (3rd best DUAL QB), are all top 100 players nationally who could realistically step into a starting role from day one. With Wimsatt being from Owensboro, KY, many believe he should be the top QB on the board. While others think that Horn (who hails form Suwanee, GA), should be the guy.
Though playing time almost always is the difference maker in a recruitment, that doesn’t mean any are locks for Louisville. In fact as of now, two of three have “strong” crystal balls for other schools. While the Cards appear to be in the race, what happens if they aren’t able to land a starting caliber quarterback?
It would hurt, that’s for sure. Which is why not taking a fall back plan in this year’s class (seperate from Lewis) has many people concerned.
The decision to not have a clear cut succession plan will either be a brilliant move or a devastating decision.
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