Cardinals news: The Fight for QB1: Plummer or Allen?, more
The Cardinals have their quarterback of the future in four-star recruit Pierce Clarkson out of Bellflower, California. But, Pierce’s father, Steve Clarkson, has not been shy about wanting his son to grow in the system as well as Head Coach Brohm commenting on the fact that he wants to add a veteran quarterback, potentially a one-and-done, to the mix.
Right now, the quarterback room holds six quarterbacks: three on scholarship and three preferred walk-ons. The three scholarship quarterbacks include Khalib Johnson, who went to high school 120 miles apart from Malik Cunningham, and has been coined Malik’s “little brother.”
Joining him on the scholarship list is Brock Domann, the pronounced backup last season who filled in for Cunningham several times when he went out with an injury. His most notable contributions came when he led the Cardinals to a dominating win over Virginia and over Cincinnati in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
Lastly, Evan Conley is the remaining scholarship signal caller on the roster. He was not eligible to play this year due to an off-season hip surgery following the close of the 2021 season. Conley has been on the roster since 2019, but hasn’t seen the field much since his first season with the team.
The three preferred walk-ons include Nathan McElroy, Sam Young, and Sam Vaulton. McElroy, played his high school ball at Trinity, just like new HC Jeff Brohm, and OC Brian Brohm who will join the team in the new year. Sam Young played his high school ball at Oldham County High School, so he also knows what it is like to play for his hometown team.
Now, with the official pen-to-paper on National Signing Day for Pierce Clarkson, Louisville has a definitive plan at quarterback for the foreseeable future. But, the desire for the new coaching staff is to bridge the gap between Malik Cunningham and Pierce Clarkson.
With that knowledge, there has been two names floating around who just both recently entered their names into the transfer portal, the first one being Cal’s Jack Plummer and the second one is Purdue’s Brady Allen.
Jack Plummer, who played for Jeff Brohm at Purdue from 2019-2021, transferred to California after the 2021 season. But has since re-entered his name into the portal and has already been crystal balled to join the Cardinals.
Texas A&M defensive back Marquis Groves-Killebrew was also crystal balled to the Cardinals and he has already signed with the team. So, it is slightly peculiar that if Plummer was set to come here without a doubt, then why is his signing being delayed?
Could it be that the actual target for Coach Brohm’s staff is former four-star recruit Brady Allen? According to On3’s Purdue insider, Tom Dienhart, Allen was the prize of Purdue’s 2022 Recruiting Class. The 6-foot-5 signal caller out of Fort Branch, Indiana could be a huge asset to the Cardinals and fits the prototypical quarterback of a Jeff Brohm offense.
Other Louisville Cardinals News
Running Backs Coach and native of Louisville, Chris Barclay has been officially named to the position that he has been filling since early on in December. Barclay was a lead recruiter, alongside Coach Brohm, in landing three-star running back Keyjuan Brown out of Atlanta, Georgia. Brown was previously committed to the Boilermakers, but decommitted soon after the announcement of Brohm and staff leaving for Louisville.