Three burning questions for Louisville football entering Notre Dame week

Is Malik Cunningham the guy?

I understand on the outset that this is a bit of a hot-takey question. I want to preface this with a disclaimer that I do believe Malik Cunningham is the guy behind center for the Cardinals.

With that being said, it’s also not ridiculous to question whether or not Cunningham is the guy we all suspected he was capable of being.

In order to understand why let’s back it up a little bit and address the original narrative around Cunningham.

During his redshirt freshman year, Cunningham really struggled in the passing game in the final season under Bobby Petrino. Rotating in and out of the lineup at option 1B behind Puma Pass, Cunningham rarely threw the ball. When he did throw, he never showcased the arm strength of a power five quarterback.

Heading into last season, most fans kind of felt Pass would be the guy because, well, there really was no other option. Then Cunningham entered the fold when Pass was injured and we really saw him progress as a complete quarterback under the new staff. He exhibited some serious arm talent and was an extremely proficient passer. He improved enough that the narrative moved all the way from Cunningham being a run-first guy to people speculating that if he were not injury-prone in 2019, the Cardinals could have been even more lethal on offense.

While it was true that Cunningham was in and out all season due to nagging injuries, there were also signs that he had a lot of work left to do. However, it was easy to look past Cunningham’s shortcomings because of the promise he showed.

In 2020 we are at a bit of a crossroads. Cunningham has not lived up to his billing, but neither has anyone on this Louisville team. There is need for improvement everywhere.

So, yes, it’s fair to question if Cunningham is that dude. However, is he the guy for the job right now? Unless you can make a decent argument for Pass, Evan Conley, or Tee Webb, this is Louisville’s guy going forward. It’s fair to at least question what else is out there, but it’s plainly obvious that there are problems all over and Cunningham fits the mold of what Louisville needs more than anyone else at the present moment.