Malik Cunningham to start for Louisville against Western Kentucky
Pass is out, Cunningham is in
Junior Malik Cunningham will start at quarterback for Louisville today when the Cardinals take on Western Kentucky at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. It will be his first start of the 2019 season. Cunningham returned to the lineup in relief of Jawon Pass last week in the fourth quarter against Eastern Kentucky. He missed the team's opener against Notre Dame after suffering a knee injury in fall camp.
Jawon Pass will not be available for today's game against Western Kentucky. Despite playing three quarters against Eastern Kentucky last week, sources tell CardinalSports.com that Pass is dealing with a chronic foot issue (he suffered from turf toe for much of the 2018 season) that surfaced after the Notre Dame game. Pass has been day to day since the season opener and attempted to practice some even this week, but, the team has decided to sit him today. True freshman Evan Conley will be the team's backup quarterback if needed.
Cunningham appeared in ten games and started three games for the Cardinals in 2018. He finished the season completing 40 of 67 passes for 473 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He also led the team in rushing with 497 yards and 5 touchdowns on 79 carries. In his first appearance of the season last week, Cunningham completed one pass for 24 yards and rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown in Louisville's 42-0 win over Eastern Kentucky.
What does it mean?
Pass being out entirely and Cunningham has several implications for Louisville. First, the quarterback running will remain a large part of the rushing attack. While running has been a larger part of Jawon Pass' game this season, there's no question that Cunningham is a more dangerous and explosive runner. So much so that Satterfield, prior to Cunningham's injury, was determined to get him on the field in some capacity regardless of who won the quarterback battle.
Second, how the offense attacks with the quarterback running will be different. Pass is a big, powerful runner who several times this year lowered his shoulder and powered forward for first downs. Now, that inside running will fall more on Hassan Hall and Javian Hawkins. But the ability to stress the edges with the running of Cunningham will be increased. In the end, is it a wash?
Third, while having to maximize what Cunningham's strengths, the staff will also have to at least weigh just how much they want to run Cunningham today. Cunningham himself is coming off of a knee injury a month ago and is only in his second game back. Every carry he takes is at least a small percentage increase in the chances of being left with one scholarship quarterback. How much is that worth?
Finally, Cunningham will have a chance to show that he can add the one element this offense has been lacking so far this year: completing the deep ball. If Cunningham comes in and can stretch defenses vertically, will the coaching staff roll with him going forward? How could they not?