Louisville assistant coach likes competition in the quarterback room; sees four capable signal callers

By Rocco Gasparro
University of Louisville

A year ago, the quarterback room at the University of Louisville seemed set.

Jawon Pass was set to be the starter, and Micale Cunningham was a capable backup and ready if needed.

Turned out, he was needed.

The quarterback room was turned on its ear after Pass suffered a season-ending foot injury after a 42-0 win over Eastern Kentucky, leaving the Cardinals will just two scholarship signal callers in Cunningham and true freshman Evan Conley to finish the remaining 10 games.

Forced to step up, Cunningham and Conley did just that, rallying the Cardinals to key victories in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Cunningham threw for a career-high 288 yards and accounted for two scores in a 41-39 win over Boston College.

Conley, a native of Kell, Ga., helped Louisville earn its first road win over a ranked opponent since 2011 when he threw for 196 yards and two scores during a 62-59 win over No. 19 Wake Forest. He sealed that victory with a 41-yard touchdown run with 2:15 remaining in the game.

“I thought they both did a lot of great things after Jawon was injured,” quarterbacks coach Frank Ponce said. “They stepped in and made plays when their numbers were called.”

While both quarterbacks helped the Cardinals get through a difficult period, it was Cunningham who elevated the Cardinals to eight wins in their last 12 games.

The native of Montgomery, Ala., was one of the most efficient passers in the country, finishing second behind Heisman Trophy winner and NFL No. 1 pick Joe Burrow. Cunningham set the school mark with a 194.45 passer rating and threw for a career-high 2,065 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Ponce thinks because of Cunningham’s growth and maturity that 2020 could see him take an even bigger step forward.

“I think the biggest thing is his study habits as a quarterback from where it was when we first got here until now,” Ponce said. “Now we’re seeing the poise he developed throughout the year, becoming a better student of the game and understanding the offense has turned into a lot of confidence.

“I always relate quarterback play to being confident, and the only way you’re going to change that is by knowing what you’re doing offensively, knowing where everybody’s at, understanding the concepts and he’s done that extremely well.”

While Cunningham elevated his game to another level last season, Ponce knows the second-year starter has things he must improve on.

“He needs to keep improving in his poise, and delivering the ball on time in the pocket,” Ponce said. “He needs to continue to develop that. We talk about throwing a receiver open, and he’s doing that. We are excited with his progress and development.”

Because of COVID-19, the Cardinals were only able to get halfway through spring practice because college athletics were shut down. However, Cunningham did enough to maintain his spot atop the depth chart.

“The way we finished the spring practices, Micale would be number one,” Ponce said. “Jawon would be right close to him, 1B, followed by Evan and Tee Webb is a kid that is learning.”

Knowing the Cardinals used three quarterbacks last season, the quarterback room has remained competitive, knowing their number could be called at any time.

“It continues to keep them focused throughout the whole year for practices and we compete every practice,” Ponce said. “So we’ll look at how they did with a completion percentage to practice and the next day if you were better than the other guy then you go in first.

“So, it is something that is that worked for us in the past and we’re going to continue to do those things, but everybody’s ready to go. We tell every guy, whether you’re one, two, three, four, or five, it doesn’t matter. You prepare yourself as you would if you’re the starter and when your chance comes, if you do that it’ll prepare for that mentality that when your time comes, you’re going to be ready and you’re going to be fine.”