LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Quarterback Malik Cunningham, offensive guard Caleb Chandler and linebacker Yasir Abdullah will represent the University of Louisville at the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff, July 20-21, at The Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina.

For the second consecutive year, each of the league’s 14 teams will bring three players to the annual media event. ACC Network will broadcast live from the ACC Football Kickoff July 20-21 for two days of expansive coverage, beginning at 9 a.m. each day. The 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports will provide the event’s most robust television coverage to date.

Cunningham led the lead the ACC in rushing touchdowns with 20 and became only the second quarterback in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards. The native of Montgomery, Ala., accounted for 39 total touchdowns in 13 games as a starter.

A starter at 13 games last season, Chandler, who was recently named a second team Preseason All-American by Athlon’s, was a first team All-American and a first team All-ACC performer.

Abdullah, a second team all-conference performer last season, finished second in the league with 10.5 sacks, the most by a UofL player since 2015.

Among the offensive players in attendance at ACC Kickoff will be nine quarterbacks, seven offensive linemen, three wide receivers, two tight ends, two running backs and one all-purpose back. Eight linebackers are scheduled to attend, along with seven defensive linemen and three defensive backs.

Four of the quarterbacks at this year’s event ranked among the ACC’s top five in passing yards per game last season – Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong (first, 404.5 yards per game), Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman (third, 302 ypg), Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke (fourth, 293.1 ypg) and NC State’s Devin Leary (fifth, 286.1 ypg).

Wake Forest’s Hartman threw 39 touchdown passes in 2021 to rank second in the conference and leads returning ACC quarterbacks this season. NC State’s Leary threw for 35 touchdowns last fall and Virginia’s Armstrong for 31.

The ACC continued to establish itself as the Conference of Quarterbacks in 2021, and many of the leading players return this season. Armstrong ranked fourth nationally in total passing yards (4,449) while Hartman (4,228) ranked seventh. Hartman’s 39 touchdown passes tied for fifth nationally, and Leary’s 35 TD passes ranked 10th. Armstrong stood second nationally in total yards per game (427.3), and Hartman (327.9) placed seventh.

The ACC Kickoff student-athletes hail from 18 states with eight from Florida, seven from North Carolina and six from Georgia. Three call the state of Virginia home, with two each from Ohio, Connecticut and New Jersey. Eleven states are each represented by one player, along with Quebec, Canada (Syracuse offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron).