Photo by: Carl Schmid | Louisville Athletics
Cunningham Takes Steps Forward During his Second Year in the Offense
August 12, 2020 | Football
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It's been a long road for University of Louisville quarterback Micale Cunningham.
The 2018 season was the toughest on him. Rotating in and out of the lineup, and uncertain of his role on the team, the redshirt junior didn't know how if he'd develop into the main starter.
Heading into 2020, Cunningham has earned the starting nod after a tremendous 2019 season, and his current development after the first eight days of practice. He's separated himself from the group.
"When we first got here I got to see him on film I knew what kind of quarterback we had," quarterbacks coach Frank Ponce said. "Obviously, it was a run-first mentality. We saw that at the beginning. There was a lot of teaching that took place and a lot of learning by him."
"He made a decision to be a better quarterback. He's done some things on film in camp, which makes you very proud of how much he's improved. We saw the improvement last season, but he's made huge strides in his development."
Cunningham took enormous steps forward last season, taking over the starting position in the third game, and never letting go of the reins.
Cunningham, who was named the Most Valuable Player in the Music City Bowl, is coming off a strong sophomore campaign in 2019. He started 11 of 13 games at quarterback, throwing for 2,065 yards on 112-of-179 passing with 22 touchdowns to just five interceptions, also rushing 122 times for 482 yards and six touchdowns. He threw for over 200 yards in six games, including a career high 288 yards in a 41-39 victory over Boston College.
The native of Montgomery, Ala., set the school record for passing efficiency at 194.45 and would have finished second nationally, but didn't have enough passing attempts to meet NCAA standards. He led the nation in passing yards per completion at 18.44 yards and was tops in passing completions of 70 and 80 yards.
"The staff came in and made me a great decision-maker. Coach Ponce has taught me a lot. I've gotten a lot better on knowing where to go with the ball, and if it's not there, not forcing the football and getting the ball to my running backs and check downs."
Cunningham has the benefit of being in Scott Satterfield's offense for the second year. Not considered a difficult offense to grasp all the concepts, Cunningham expects the offense to be even better than a year ago when it averaged 447.1 yards per game and 33.1 points per game.
"Considering it's our second year in the offense, we know where to go," Cunningham said. "Last year we were learning on the run. It's not a complex offense, so it was kind of easy and we grasped it quickly. We are good to go and ready to get on the field."
While Cunningham is slated to the starter, the Cardinals have solid back-ups in senior Jawon Pass and Evan Conley, who have all seen significant starts in their UofL careers.
"It's been great." Cunningham said of the competition among the quarterbacks. "The kids have been very competitive. Every day they have shown improvement and are getting the ball down the field. We feel comfortable with anyone out there at quarterback. We have a great quarterback room."
The Cardinals return to the practice field on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.
The 2018 season was the toughest on him. Rotating in and out of the lineup, and uncertain of his role on the team, the redshirt junior didn't know how if he'd develop into the main starter.
Heading into 2020, Cunningham has earned the starting nod after a tremendous 2019 season, and his current development after the first eight days of practice. He's separated himself from the group.
"When we first got here I got to see him on film I knew what kind of quarterback we had," quarterbacks coach Frank Ponce said. "Obviously, it was a run-first mentality. We saw that at the beginning. There was a lot of teaching that took place and a lot of learning by him."
"He made a decision to be a better quarterback. He's done some things on film in camp, which makes you very proud of how much he's improved. We saw the improvement last season, but he's made huge strides in his development."
Cunningham took enormous steps forward last season, taking over the starting position in the third game, and never letting go of the reins.
Cunningham, who was named the Most Valuable Player in the Music City Bowl, is coming off a strong sophomore campaign in 2019. He started 11 of 13 games at quarterback, throwing for 2,065 yards on 112-of-179 passing with 22 touchdowns to just five interceptions, also rushing 122 times for 482 yards and six touchdowns. He threw for over 200 yards in six games, including a career high 288 yards in a 41-39 victory over Boston College.
The native of Montgomery, Ala., set the school record for passing efficiency at 194.45 and would have finished second nationally, but didn't have enough passing attempts to meet NCAA standards. He led the nation in passing yards per completion at 18.44 yards and was tops in passing completions of 70 and 80 yards.
"The staff came in and made me a great decision-maker. Coach Ponce has taught me a lot. I've gotten a lot better on knowing where to go with the ball, and if it's not there, not forcing the football and getting the ball to my running backs and check downs."
Cunningham has the benefit of being in Scott Satterfield's offense for the second year. Not considered a difficult offense to grasp all the concepts, Cunningham expects the offense to be even better than a year ago when it averaged 447.1 yards per game and 33.1 points per game.
"Considering it's our second year in the offense, we know where to go," Cunningham said. "Last year we were learning on the run. It's not a complex offense, so it was kind of easy and we grasped it quickly. We are good to go and ready to get on the field."
While Cunningham is slated to the starter, the Cardinals have solid back-ups in senior Jawon Pass and Evan Conley, who have all seen significant starts in their UofL careers.
"It's been great." Cunningham said of the competition among the quarterbacks. "The kids have been very competitive. Every day they have shown improvement and are getting the ball down the field. We feel comfortable with anyone out there at quarterback. We have a great quarterback room."
The Cardinals return to the practice field on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.
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