QB Brock Domann Impressing Coaches, Staying Ready to Help Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As any well-versed football fan knows, the most important position on the field for any team is always the quarterback. For the Louisville football program, their starter at signal caller for the upcoming 2023 season - Cal graduate transfer Jack Plummer - gives them a healthy mix of experience, production and system familiarity that will help give the Cardinals their best chance to win in year one of the Jeff Brohm era.
But as important as the starting quarterback position is for any football program, the backup spot is almost just as important. Louisville saw this last season when starter Malik Cunningham was forced to miss multiple games due to various injuries. In case the starter is unavailable, you need the next man in line to be able to march the offense down the field as efficiently as the starter would.
While the Cardinals do have a plethora of options for their backup quarterback, the incumbent second-stringer from last season, Brock Domann, is continuing to prove his worth to the new staff.
"That's kind of what you see with him," offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Brohm said when asked about Domann's consistency and reliability. "He's probably not the flashiest guy, where you're gonna make a bunch of plays and say, 'wow, wow, wow.' But as you accumulate those plays over time, he's just consistently doing the right thing: making accurate throws, making the right decisions.
A former JUCO product, Domann originally joined Louisville ahead of their 2021 season, but also played a few snaps in the Cardinals' blowout win at Duke.
Last season, his role took a dramatic increase. He was dubbed the No. 2 quarterback in fall camp, and wound up having to be heavily relied on. Due to the aforementioned injuries to Cunningham, Domann was forced to make four starts, but wound up guiding UofL to a 3-1 record in those games. Making ten appearances overall in 2022, he completed 54.9 percent of his passes for 998 yards and four touchdowns to six interceptions last season.
"Obviously, he's led the football team to wins and that's probably a lot of the reason why," Brian Brohm said. "But you see that out on the field. He's good at making decisions, he's accurate with the football, has a good, quick release. He does a lot of things that maybe aren't necessarily, 'oh wow!' plays, but a lot of the really good things that keep you on track as an offense."
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound signal caller hasn't skipped a beat over the offseason. In the open practices for both spring ball and fall camp, Domann has looked incredibly comfortable within the confines of the new pass-heavy system, consistently making plays that help the offense keep on ticking.
"There's a lot more reading involved," Domann said of the new scheme. "Last year in (Scott Satterfield)'s offense, it was very strict. You went 1, 2, 3, to four. In this offense, obviously you still have reads, but there's a little more flexibility of like, 'Hey, make a play, get a completion, get the first down.' There's a little more of allowing you to see it a little differently."
While Domann won't be taking the first snap of the season when Louisville travels to Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, Sept. 1 to open up their season against Georgia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Classic, his mindset is that, like last season, he has to stay ready for the team for whenever his number is called.
"My mindset is, I can't control where I am on the depth chart," he said. "But what I can control is making sure that I'm prepared, so whenever that opportunity does come this season, that I am ready to step in and win some games.
"Obviously, you want to be No. 1, and my mindset is always to be No. 1. But at the end of the day, you have to accept where you're at, and you have to move forward, learn from the guy ahead of you, pick up on the things that he's doing well. Trust God, ultimately. Trust God with what path he has you on. I know, for me, opportunities come at the most random time. They did last year. It's a weird waiting game, but it's also super exciting when it does happen."
For Domann, this mindset of staying ready no matter the circumstances is what helps him keep going throughout the season despite not being first on the depth chart.
"If I didn't have that mindset, it would be really sad coming out to practice every day," he said. "That's what kind of keeps me going, is the belief and the hope that I am going to play this season. Because without that, it's pretty sad."
(Photo of Brock Domann: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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