Malik Cunningham Continuing to Work on Abilities as a Pocket Passer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At this point in time, Malik Cunningham's capabilities as a quarterback are well documented.
After taking a bit of a step back in 2020 from an efficiency standpoint, the Louisville signal caller took a tremendous leap forward in his redshirt junior year last season. His 305.5 yards of offense per game ranked 14th in all of FBS, and he came just one passing touchdown short of cracking the exclusive 20/20 club.
A lot of Cunningham's success is due to his abilities as a runner. Last season, he rushed for 1,031 yards and 20 touchdowns, with the latter ranking fourth nationally. He became just the 14th player in Louisville history to post a 1,000-yard season, and the second quarterback to do it behind Lamar Jackson.
That's not to say the Montgomery, Ala. native is not proficient at throwing the football. In fact, he took a big leap forward in his decision making with the ball. After throwing 12 interceptions in 2020, playing a large role in that season's turnover woes, he cut that mark in half for the 2021 season, while also completing 62 percent of his passes for 19 touchdowns and a career-best 2,941 yards.
But Cunningham knows that there is still room for improvement. Even though his legs are one of the deadliest weapons in college football, he not trying to use them as a crutch or safety valve. Ever since spring practice for the Cardinals started last month, Cunningham - and the coaching staff - has made the passing game his focus.
"Coach won't let me run at all," he said. "I'm adapting to that. I kind of like that little better, throwing to save my legs. It's been good for the for next level and for the season, because a lot of teams are probably not going to let me run."
Continuing to take more and more passing reps, as opposed to rushing reps, will also help out the wide receiver room. Of course, this notion is true for every team in college football, but especially Louisville considering how many new faces there are at the position.
The Cardinals have lost four scholarship wideouts, including Jordan Watkins and Justin Marshall, and replaced them with five new ones, namely Tyler Hudson and Dee Wiggins. Speed threats like Tyler Harrell, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce and Braden Smith return, but that's really it.
"I've just getting those guys the ball, just getting comfortable with the receivers. Them trusting me, I'm trusting them."
Quarterbacks coach Pete Thomas played a large role in helping Cunningham become not only a much more polished passer last season, but a more balanced offensive weapon between running and passing. This offseason, there's a much more concerted effort on honing in on Cunningham's passing ability - whether he's in the pocket or not.
"We're trying to get him to - even more so than last year, sit in the pocket and go through his reads. When he does scramble, scramble to throw," Thomas said. "Some of the biggest plays out there in the pass game come off the scramble. If you watch NFL or college football, some of the biggest plays are scrambling around and keeping your eyes downfield. We've really been harping on that too."
Fortunately, a lot of that effort isn't spent fixing something that's mechanically broken with Cunningham. Thomas even went as far to say that he's "got a really good throwing motion." The only aspect of Cunningham's game from a mechanical standpoint that needs some tweaking is his footwork.
"It just all comes down to his feet," Thomas said. "A lot of his bad throws from last year that we studied are when his feet aren't right. And as a quarterback, it all starts with your feet."
The bad throws in question last were the occasional overthrow that a propensity to show up in the worst possible moments, such as when a receiver or tight end was wide open for a touchdown. As time goes on, and Cunningham continues to get more passing reps in, these tendencies are slowly starting to disappear.
"It's been really good," Thomas said. "He's been getting better every day at sitting in the pocket, making the throws and going through his reads."
(Photo of Malik Cunningham: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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