Louisville football: Five most important players returning for 2020 campaign

Micale Cunningham

The player nobody in the ACC is talking about but should be, Micale Cunningham flipped a switch in the passing game midway through 2019 and was a big reason why the previous two offensive Cards were able to have record-breaking seasons.

He isn’t a polished passer, he is still learning patience in the pocket and learning when to take off and run, but Cunningham has a tremendous amount of potential to become those things and become one of the most electrifying quarterbacks in the country.

We knew entering the season that Cunningham was the best rushing quarterback not named Lamar to ever set foot on campus. The questions remained, however, about his arm talent. He struggled to adjust to passing the ball in the college game, and many truly felt that Cunningham was unable to make passes required of a power five college quarterback.

Under quarterbacks coach Frank Ponce, Cunningham silenced all of the critics in 2019. He threw for 22 touchdowns to only five interceptions, completing 62 percent of his passes, and owned a 194.79 QB rating.

Were Cunningham fully healthy throughout the season, Louisville football would likely have a Heisman frontrunner on its hands in Cunningham.

Just like the other four players on this list, Cunningham’s health is of the utmost importance. He never quite got fully healthy until late in the season, and then played through a stomach virus during the Kentucky game.

If Cunningham can give Louisville 12-plus healthy games in 2020, he will be a name that everyone in the country knows.