Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time
Teddy Bridgewater, without a doubt, is the most beloved former Cardinal to make this list. Sure, there are players that were probably a bit better, established better resumes or went on to become better pros, but nobody was a better human being than Bridgewater. Every Louisville fan has a soft spot for him.
As a prospect from Miami Northwestern, Bridgwater was lured to Louisville by Charlie Strong and staff and developed a strong relationship with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. The player/coach relationship made for a dynamic duo on the field who always seemed to call the right plays at the right times.
Bridgwater’s career began as perfectly as any Cards fan could have dreamed of, coming in off the bench to lead Louisville to a comeback win on the road against Kentucky. From that point, Bridgewater never relinquished the starting position. Even in serious times of turmoil, Bridgewater gave everything he had for the team.
The play of Bridgwater was so poised and so impressive that it’s hard to choose just one moment that defined his career, but perhaps a moment that will live on forever was a sloppy game at Rutgers in 2012 that had potential BCS bowl game implications.
Bridgewater was not supposed to play in the biggest game of Louisville’s season. He had a high ankle sprain and a fractured wrist among other bumps and bruises sustained throughout the season. He got off the bus on a frigid Piscataway night on crutches. He ended the night a legend.
After Louisville fell behind by two scores early, Bridgewater literally hobbled into the game and guided Louisville to two quick scores, throwing nifty shovel passes and giving maximum, gutsy effort en route to a game-winning drive that ultimately sent the Cardinals to the Sugar Bowl.
Sure, there were incredible plays and awesome highlights throughout his college career to choose from. He pummeled Florida in the Sugar Bowl in the biggest BCS bowl upset ever, he guided the Cardinals to multiple game-winning drives and he poetically finished off his career by crushing his hometown team who he spurned to go to Louisville.
However, as a fan who spends a ton of time-consuming Louisville football culture and tradition, watching a teenager sacrifice his body and potentially career in order to put his team on his back to win a stupid game of football; well, that just cannot be beaten.
Off the field, Bridgewater was the antithesis of a humble leader. When other teammates went out, hung out, partied or did other college kid things, Bridgewater had his face in his gaming system, where he had installed his entire playbook in order to go over his reads and progressions. He was humble, soft-spoken and authentic.
“He seriously doesn’t go out,” an unnamed teammate told Mike Rutherford of Card Chronicle in 2013. “All he does is practice, go to class, do school work and watch film. If it’s the weekend or we don’t have class, he might play video games.”
Another athlete told Rutherford “I’ve never known someone with a clearer vision for what he wants to be in life. The guy is completely, 100 percent, focused on his goals and isn’t going to let anything or anyone distract him. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
His relationship with his mother, a cancer survivor, is well-documented. When she was going through treatments, Bridgewater was there. When she healed, Bridgewater left to follow his dreams, make a path for his family and buy his mother her dream car: a pink Cadillac.
Three years later, after being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, Bridgewater showed up at her front door with a delivery. Promise fulfilled.
Bridgewater finished his Louisville career 28-7 as a starter and 23-3 over his last two seasons. He sits at No. 3 in career passing yards and touchdown passes. Bridgewater still holds the school record for most touchdown passes in a season.
After Louisville, Bridgewater earned the starting spot with the Vikings before suffering one of the most gruesome non-contact leg injuries possible. His road to recovery led him to the New York Jets for a half of a season before he found a home as the quarterback-in-waiting behind Drew Brees with the New Orleans Saints.