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Louisville football: Comparing the tale of two completely different staffs

By Alex Stengel

ANN ARBOR, MI - AUGUST 30: Appalachin State head coach Scott Satterfield watches the pregame warms up prior to the start of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on August 30, 2014 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - AUGUST 30: Appalachin State head coach Scott Satterfield watches the pregame warms up prior to the start of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on August 30, 2014 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 24: Malik Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals throws a pass against the Kentucky Wildcats on November 24, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 24: Malik Cunningham #3 of the Louisville Cardinals throws a pass against the Kentucky Wildcats on November 24, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Quarterbacks

The old – Nick Petrino

And then there is Nick Petrino. I tried not to laugh when reading the initial paragraphs of his coaching bio from last season’s media guide, as most of it was Lamar Jackson accolades and statistics.

Talk about riding coattails.

Like L.D. Scott’s lightning quick path to coaching at a power 5 school, Nick Petrino started as a student coach (whatever that means) turned grad assistant – following his dad from Arkansas to WKU to Louisville.

Let me break this down quickly.

Nick Petrino in 2014 – Grad Assistant at UofL.

Nick Petrino in 2015 – QB coach for UofL, a power 5 program.

Regarding experience and qualifications, I rest my case.

The new – Frank Ponce

Frank Ponce started his coaching career just as Nick Petrino was turning four years old. As many coaching origin stories begin, Ponce started as an offensive coordinator at the high school level in Florida in 1992. Fast forward ten years later – Ponce is now a dominant high school Head coach in the insanely competitive South Florida area. This notoriety led Ponce to his first Collegiate coaching job, Wide Receivers at FIU.

A crazy stat about Ponce at FIU – six of the top 10 wide receivers in FIU’s history were produced during Ponce’s six seasons there. Six seasons – six of the 10 best WR’s in FIU’s history, with T.Y. Hilton as the most notable. And who was the offensive coordinator during FIU’s two best offensive seasons during that time? You guessed it – Scott Satterfield. Maybe I’m a sucker for stats, but this coaching combo gives me butterflies.

Did I mentioned he was – and still is – considered one of the best recruiters in Florida?

FEED THE LOUISVILLE/FLORIDA PIPELINE PLEASE.

https://twitter.com/UofLFootball/status/1123364017354018820

Frank Ponce continued cranking out results upon landing at Appalachian State in 2013, helping turn around App State’s offense as co-offensive coordinator and QB coach. According to GoCards.com, In 2017, Ponce helped groom Taylor Lamb, who finished his career as the school and Sun Belt leader in touchdown passes with 90. The only FBS quarterbacks in 2017 with career totals of at least 9,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards were Lamb, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett, and our very own Heisman winner Lamar Jackson – finishing as the runner-up. I think our Quarterbacks are in more than capable hands going forward.

So Flo has been good to Louisville over the years, and Ponce is making sure it stays that way.

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