Louisville football is, once again, in need of a quarterback after the sudden departure of Luke McCaffrey.
Just like that, the Luke McCaffrey era of Louisville football has come to an end. After less than a week on campus, the former four-star quarterback and Nebraska transfer decided not being the starter wasn’t going to cut it.
Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield appeared on The Drew Deener show on Wednesday morning, where he confirmed that less than a week into his tenure, McCaffrey had seen enough.
“Luke came in last week and started working out Wednesday with the team, and then I guess after the week, those three or four days, decided this wasn’t the place for him. His big thing he wanted to do was come in and play and being a starting quarterback. I guess after 3-4 days maybe that wasn’t going to happen here.”
I mean, why wouldn’t McCaffrey be handed the starting job? It’s definitely not as if Louisville football already had a multi-year starter looking to finish his career on a strong note. With his brother raking in millions of dollars in NFL and endorsement money and his Dad being a Super Bowl Champ, it’s clear that McCaffrey thought higher of himself than he probably should have. I understand McCaffrey wanting to pull the trigger quickly on his decision to leave. But only giving the program 3-4 days to get a role together is blasphemous, but not surprising giving the current landscape of college sports.
How we got here
McCaffrey committed to Louisville on February 22nd. While he was by no means a starting caliber QB at Nebraska, he did play in 11 games, throwing for 608 yards and 3 touchdowns, while completing 64% of his passes. By all accounts McCaffrey was considered a “project player,” but it was his versatility that made him an intriguing addition. In two seasons he carried the ball 89 times for 530 yards and 4 touchdowns in addition to catching 2 passes for 17 yards. He often was used in a “Taysom Hill” type role, playing at QB, RB, and even WR/TE.
Any realistic, sound of mind, person did not expect the former 4-star prospect to come to Louisville and compete right away behind Malik Cunningham. Was he ever going to be the starter in 2021? Hell no. But was he a player who had the potential to develop into Cunningham’s successor? 100%. His past role at Nebraska, combined with what Satterfield has done with athletes in years past, led you to believe that he could still have a nice role in year one.
We broke down McCaffrey’s game on The State of Louisville back in March, following his transfer to the Cards Jacob Lane wrote:
“I believe this is a low-risk, high-reward move situation for Louisville football, as they’ll be guaranteed to get another dynamic weapon regardless of if McCaffrey ever starts at QB long-term. I expect to see him in a Taysom Hill type of role this season at Louisville, while he “redshirts” at the “true” quarterback position. Meaning, he spends a season working on immersing himself in the position.
McCaffrey’s brother, Christian, once said he (Luke) “had all the tools” to be an elite quarterback. I believe that to be true, but it can’t be right away. And that’s perfectly okay.
In 2021, McCaffrey can be an athlete/specialist for the Louisville football offense in certain packages, adding a new offensive dynamic. Defenses will have a hard time figuring out what to do with QB’s like Cunningham and McCaffrey on the field. Not to mention what can happen when you add in Werts to the mix.
2022 and beyond, whatever happens from there depends on his development as a passer. More than likely he’d compete with Conley, TJ Lewis, and any incoming quarterbacks in the class of 2022.”
McCaffrey is the 17th transfer of the offseason for Louisville football – the sixth most in the FBS. Many will want to worry and be quick to blame Satt Daddy, but in this particular situation that shouldn’t the case.
Regardless of the number of transfers, McCaffrey clearly had outlandish expectations. To only last three days shows a lack of sticktoitiveness and over-the-top entitlement. I get the last name is synonymous with football greatness – but two average seasons at Nebraska doesn’t make you a starter day one at Louisville.
The details of this aren’t great and my guess is it could hurt McCaffrey when making his next decision. If being the starting QB is the hill McCaffrey is willing to die on, I’d expect to see him move down to the mid-major ranks.
What’s next for Louisville?
Later in his appearance on 93.9 The Ville & ESPN 680, Satterfield talked about the quarterback position in 2021.
“Malik and Evan Conley, they have such a strong presence on this team, both of those guys. Evan didn’t play a ton last year, but he’s one of our best leaders on this team…. I’m excited about what they’ll bring to the table this year. They’re working hard and they’ve had a great spring and summer. “
Satt was also asked about what’s next with the portal and if they are targeting QB’s. “Yeah, you know, we are,” Satterfield said. “We’re still looking for other spots as well. Safety, wide receiver, maybe running back.”
Louisville still has multiple scholarships available to use for the 2021 season and with only Evan Conley and incoming freshman TJ Lewis behind Cunningham, it’s almost a near certainty that they’ll add another piece.
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