Louisville football: Four biggest story lines entering spring practice
By Alex Stengel
Micale Cunningham’s journey to becoming an elite ACC quarterback
As a lover of sports data, nothing pains me more from this past season than this:
Micale Cunningham fell one pass attempt short of qualifying for national rankings for passer rating. Otherwise, his 194.45 rating this season would rank second in FBS behind Joe Burrow's 204.60 rating.
— Kelly Dickey (@RealCardGame) December 31, 2019
Remembering that Micale didn’t start every game and even missing time due to injury in others, I’d say falling one pass short of qualifying as one of the most efficient passers in the country is pretty damn good.
And the best part? He’s still getting better.
Cunningham still has room for improvement, as does all of his offensive weapons returning – a thought that should make almost every defense on Louisville’s 2020 schedule uncomfortable.
If I remember correctly, Micale was making strides over last summer during camp and was on the verge of rivaling Jawon Pass for the starting QB position until his injury during practice. However, Cunningham clearly capitalized on his opportunity once Pass went down with an injury of his own.
Cunningham, Javian Hawkins, and Tutu Atwell all finished on very strong notes last season while the Cards as a whole finished 24th in total offense. An offense that returns almost all of its production for 2020.
With Cunningham progressing through a full offseason and now fall practice to further gel with the offense as the starting QB while having a full season of Satterfield’s system under his belt, expect the offense to be sharper, faster, and even more explosive.
Cunningham has the talent, ability, and confidence to have a true breakout year at quarterback. Combine that with Satterfield’s creative zone schemes and you might get one of the most elite offenses in the country for 2020.
Speaking of offensive weapons and high ceilings, that brings me to my next storyline…