Louisville football: Top 5 concerns going into 2019 season

Quarterback play

The big storyline heading into any season is going to be quarterback play. This season is no different for the ACC’s new quarterback U.

Louisville rarely has seasons with serious concerns behind center. From Chris Redman to Dave Ragone to Stefan Lefors to Brian Brohm, Teddy Bridgewater, and Lamar Jackson, rare has been the season without strong quarterback play in this century.

It’s no secret that the Cards’ quarterback play was a turnstile of chaos during Bobby Petrino’s last season, and the national media has taken notice. Probable starting quarterback Puma Pass is ranked No. 128 out of 130 quarterbacks in Pro Football Focus’ college starting quarterback rankings for 2019. That’s… not good.

Pass has been working diligently to put the demons of 2018 behind him, but making a big leap this year is much easier said than done. There’s still plenty of speculation that Pass was overhyped out of high school or that he was an early bloomer who can’t quite catch up to the speed of the college game. Whatever the case, Louisville is need of an offensive leader and there’s no guarantee that Pass is the guy.

Option 1-A is Malik Cunningham. Louisville’s returning leading rusher from a season ago is dynamic behind center but struggled in 2018 with arm strength, accuracy, and overall command of the offense. He has been hobbled by an injury this summer, but the staff thinks he will be ready come opening day. Regardless of who wins the starting job, Cunningham is going to see time on the field as a utility player.

True freshman Evan Conley is a player that many see as a darkhorse to get the starting nod at some point this season. He is a promising prospect that the staff was all-in on as the incumbent starter when he was committed to App State. Conley is reportedly a step behind the more veteran quarterbacks, but as the season goes on, there’s a reason to believe that he could see some playing time.

As of now, there seems to be some concern regarding the status of Malik Cunningham, who suffered a knee injury this summer. His presence is one that is needed in this offense, even if he’s not on the field as a quarterback, due to his playmaking ability. If he’s out, a lot more pressure with fall on Pass’ shoulders.

There’s hope for a decent year from the Louisville quarterbacks but, unlike the nearly two decades prior, the Cardinals have a ton of uncertainty. There are signs of improvement, but until we see the new-look Cardinals take the field, there’s no way to guarantee that anything will be improved from last season.