Birmingham Stallions Select Louisville QB Malik Cunningham in 2023 USFL Draft
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Malik Cunningham is heading back to his home state. Or at least he has the opportunity to do so.
During Tuesday's 2023 USFL Draft, the former Louisville quarterback was selected by the Birmingham Stallions with the No. 22 overall pick in the third round.
Unlike last year's USFL Draft, where players in the draft pool were already under contract by the USFL, Cunningham still has the opportunity to taken in April's 2023 NFL Draft should he opt to go that route.
If Cunningham does decide to head to the USFL, he'll be going into a great situation. Not only did the Stallions win the inaugural USFL Championship last season, but he'll be playing roughly 90 miles north of his hometown of Montgomery, Ala.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound signal caller had a bit of a down 2022 campaign by his standards, partially assisted by injuries. Playing in 10 games this past season with nine starts, Cunningham completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,568 yards and eight touchdowns to five interceptions. The dual threat QB also rushed for 565 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Still, it was enough for him to re-write the Louisville record books. Cunningham finished his Cardinals career with 120 touchdowns responsible for, good for the most in Louisville history. His 12,848 career yards ranks second to Lamar Jackson, and his 50 career rushing touchdowns are also tied with the former Heisman Trophy winner.
His 3,184 rushing yards rank third in school history behind Jackson and Walter Peacock, his 9,664 career passing yards rank fourth and his 70 career passing touchdowns rank fifth.
Cunningham's best season came in 2021. That year, he finished the year fifth in the ACC in rushing yards with 1,031, and fourth nationally in rushing touchdowns with 20. Not to mention that was on top of a 62.0 percent completion rate for 2,941 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air to only six interceptions. His 305.5 yards per game was good for fifth in the ACC and 14th nationally.
(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports)
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