Louisville Football: Who Plays Behind Puma Pass?

Louisville football has their guy in Puma Pass at quarterback in 2018. But what happens if Pass is unable to play?

There is no real question who will start for Louisville football in 2018.

Although the Cards lost their most productive quarterback in school history in 2016 Heisman Trophy recipient Lamar Jackson, their guy has always been waiting in the wings.

Jawon “Puma” Pass was a highly sought after quarterback coming out of high school, and he has all of the tools to lead Louisville in a similarly dominating fashion to Jackson. Although he lacks the freakish athleticism of Jackson, he is a polished pro-style passer who can also tote the rock when needed.

Pass saw little game action in 2017 and when he did get in, he was what most expected. Calm and poised in the pocket, didn’t try to force anything, and made some pretty impressive plays for a redshirt freshman.

But, what if the Cards don’t have Pass’s services for a game this season? Who will they turn to in 2018 as their back up quarterback?

There was a palpable buzz around Cardinal Stadium during the spring game, where Malik Cunningham had a really solid game without a full arsenal of first string receivers.

Cunningham, a 4-star athlete out of high school who the coaches have been high on, completed 14 of 18 passes for 117 yards, and ran for 73 more.

Cunningham has elite-level speed, and demonstrates the ability to show a lot of patience and not force anything in the pocket. Even if he only has a spring game under his belt, 14 for 18 passing is a great start.

Cunningham’s success in the spring game led to a lot of speculation in the spring that he could be pushing Pass for starting time, but Bobby Petrino and staff have made it well-known from the start that there is no competition.

There may not be competition to start, but the battle for the spot directly behind Pass is going to be a fun one to watch going forward.

True Freshman Jordan Travis- the 2017 Palm Beach Player of the Year recipient- arrived on campus with high expectations this fall, and he has yet to disappoint.

Travis has an NFL arm, and brings legit athleticism along with a true duel threat passing and running attack to the Louisville roster.

If there is a true dark horse freshman to see playing time for the Cards in 2018 it may be Travis. If Pass is unable to go, it sounds like Travis is more than living up to the billing in practice.

Fans of the program won’t soon forget Petrino selling Kyle Bolin and Reggie Bonnafon as starting quarterbacks before trotting Lamar Jackson onto the field for the first play against Auburn in 2015.

When the Cards square off against Auburn’s rivaling Crimson Tide game one, don’t expect anyone except Pass under center. But Travis and Cunningham are closer than many might realize.

If one of their numbers is called at some point in 2018, Cunningham and Travis will be ready for the moment.