Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time
Until very recently, Chris Redman was widely considered the greatest quarterback in Louisville football history.
The son of Bob Redman, long-time Louisville Male high school head coach, the younger Redman was his father’s star pupil as the quarterback of the Bulldogs in the mid-1990s. Redman was one of a long line of payers to star at Male before playing for the Cardinals.
Redman was awarded the Parade Magazine National Player of the Year Award and Mr. Football USA in 1994 after throwing for a record 57 touchdown passes. His eight touchdown passes in one game is still a record to this day.
As a Cardinal, Redman did not start in his first five games of his career, but after taking over in the middle of a road game after starter Jason Payne went down to injury, Redman led the Cards to a comeback win against the Nick Saban-led Michigan State Spartans.
His legend only grew from there. As the Ron Cooper era continued, the culture in Louisville became a mess. Teammate Ibn Green recounted that Cooper was a great guy and remains a great coach, but the fit in Louisville as the head coach was not there.
Cooper lost control of the team and as a result, Louisville struggled badly. Still, Redman continued to push along full speed ahead, determined to get the Cardinals back to their winning ways.
Even in tumultuous times, Redman was a success story, and his leadership and consistent play on the field made the transition from the failed Cooper era to the John L. Smith era easier than it may have been otherwise.
Louisville went from 1-10 in 1997 to 7-5 in 1998 and 1999. In his final two seasons, Redman doubled his touchdown numbers en route to a decorated career that put him atop nearly every statistical passing category in school history. In 1994, Redman won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the best senior quarterback in the nation.
Redman finished his career with 12,541 total yards, which is still first in school history. To this day, he still has three of the top 10 passing seasons on record and holds six of the top 10 records for most passing yards in a single game.
After his historic career, Redman went on to become a well-respected backup in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in his rookie season. He finished his NFL career with 21 touchdowns and 3,041 career passing yards in three seasons with the Ravens.