Louisville Football: The Real QB University

Louisville football may have just recently had a Heisman trophy winning quarterback but us Card Nation folks know there is a long history of great quarterbacks that have worn the Louisville uniform.

Lamar Jackson was lighting in a bottle, and ultimately will go down as one of, if not the, most electrifying college football player in history. The best part about it all, he did it wearing a Louisville logo, representing for a school that desperately needed a player with his charisma, swag, and skill. What he did for the Louisville football program will never be forgotten

What most people around the country don’t realize though, is the success at quarterback didn’t start with Lamar Jackson. Guys like Brian Brohm, Chris Redman, and Dave Ragone laid the foundation many years ago.

A quick paragraph does none of these athletes justice. The players highlighted in this article are just a few of the fan favorites that have led the Cardinals throughout the years. I won’t even touch on Jeff Brohm, Hunter Cantwell, Will Gardner, Reggie Bonnafon, or Will Stein, all of which are guys that got the job done here at Louisville.

Point being, UofL has been putting QB’s in the NFL for decades now., and ultimately has had some of the most successful players in recent memory.

Let us now take a little deeper look at the long line of Cardinal QB’s.

The success at quarterback didn’t start with Lamar Jackson. Guys like Brian Brohm, Chris Redman, and Dave Ragone laid the foundation many years ago.

Do football fans even know Johnny Unitas, whom many consider the greatest quarterback of all-time played his college ball for the Louisville football program? I am going to be honest, I was not even aware Unitas played here until an age I am too embarrassed to say. Could you imagine Unitas under center for Bobby? The section now formerly known as the “oven” would stay hot.

Picture it Louisville, KY 1951 a 6’1″ 145 pound Johnny Unitas whom was turned away by Notre Dame football starts game five of the season against a powerhouse St. Bonaventure. Unitas threw and completed 11 straight passes for 3 TD’s but our Cardinals still came up short 22-21. From 1951 – 1954 Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. Johnny’s number 16 is retired at UofL and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is awarded to the Nations Most Outstanding Senior QB.

Press fast forward on your VCR now on your “CARDS FOOTBALL 1996” recorded from local television channels VHS and let us speak on Chris Redman. A Conference USA All Freshman plaque haver after throwing for over 1,700 yards. The first QB in Division I-A history to complete over 1,000 passes in a career led Chris to capture the before mentioned Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year.

Next up was Dave Ragone. From 1999 through 2002 Ragone went 27-11 as the starting QB and 11-1 in 2001. When all was said and done Dave was Louisville’s second all-time leading passer and was forced to make room on his mantle for the 2000, 2001, and 2002 Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year awards. The Texans selected Ragone in the 3rd round as the 88th overall pick in 2003.

With Bobby Ball 1.0 in full effect, a guy that many of you consider your favorite all time UL QB Stefan LeFors was here from 2001 – 2004. In The Liberty Bowl 11-1 season he led the Cardinals to their highest AP Poll finish ever finishing up 6th in the country. Stefan was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, was named 1st Team All Conference USA QB in ’03 & ’04, and Conference Player of the Year in 2004. LeFors was not supposed to be THAT good, and because Louisville was the only D-1 school to offer him as a QB, I think that’s why he is so loved. Not to mentioned he won a ton of games. Like a ton.

Brian Brohm could have played football where ever he wanted. With offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Alabama, Brian chose to stay home and lead his hometown Louisville Cardinals to new heights. Raking in the 2004 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, a win in the Liberty Bowl, and a number 6 ranking all in his first season under center. Brohm led Louisville to the first ever BCS victory by winning the 2007 Orange Bowl and taking home the games MVP award.

My favorite all-time football Cardinal, winning the Big East Rookie of the Year and named a freshman All-American by Rivals, Scout, CBS Sports, and Sporting news. Teddy’s Sophomore season brought the Cardinals the Big East title after the classic Rutgers game and landed Teddy the Big East Offensive Player of the Year.

Next up was the Sugar Bowl where the heavy underdog Cardinals led by Bridgewater smacked the nations number 1 pass efficient defense Florida Gators right in the mouth and won the game 33-23. In his junior and last season at Louisville Bridgewater threw for nearly 4,000 yards and won the MVP award in the Russell Athletic Bowl defeating Miami.

Then Lamar Jackson happened. Lamar is a Florida kid that was here at Louisville to follow in the footsteps of Teddy. Louisville Twitter was in love with the kid before he even set foot on campus after seeing his high school highlight reel. Lamar completely electrified not only Louisville but the entire nation in his time at UofL.

Freshman year Lamar won the starting job and won the first of many awards with the MVP of the Music City Bowl rushing for a record 226 yards. Then sophomore season happened. It was unreal, Louisville football was in the national spotlight and being led by the best player in the country. The season was filled with highlights from the Syracuse leap, record breaking video game like numbers being posted weekly, and that all led to Lamar beating out Clemson’s DeShaun Watson to become the youngest Heisman Trophy winner in history. While team expectations never lived up to the hype in Lamar’s Junior season he got even better and won the Men’s ACC Athlete of the Year for all conference sports.

There’s a reason Louisville can be called”Quarterback U.” While many say that the success of Louisville football at the QB position starts with Lamar Jackson, let’s not forget just how dominant the QB’s who came before him were.

Next up in that long list of QB’s is Jawon “Puma” Pass, a guy who is ready to take the nation by storm. After sitting behind Lamar Jackson for two years, Pass will take the reins of the Louisville football program in a year that has more question marks than any in recent memory.

Best believe Jawon Pass, a country boy from Decatur, GA, who chose the Cards over national powerhouses like Alabama, and Auburn is the next great UofL QB.

I started a twitter poll asking for who your all-time favorite Cardinal QB is and Teddy, Lamar, and Lefors won out pretty handily. I have read responses to that with others choice and the back story of why. No matter what anyone says, I wouldn’t change the QB pipeline for anything.

I love those stories so please drop me a line on twitter at @GoodTymeCharles and let me know who is your favorite Cards QB and why? #GoCards