No, Louisville Doesn't Have a Quarterback Controversy... Yet
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When the Louisville football program first announced the news that quarterback Malik Cunningham would not be playing against Virginia, many Louisville fans had the same initial reaction: the Cardinals were doomed against the Cavaliers.
For the last three-plus years, Cunningham has been an integral part of the offensive success that Louisville has seen under head coach Scott Satterfield. While he hadn't been perfect during the first five games of the 2022 season, he still was able to put up 1,425 total yards of offense and 12 touchdowns during this time. In other words, 66.3 percent of Louisville's offense directly involved Cunningham.
Unfortunately, Cunningham would have to break his school-record streak of 40 quarterback starts due to a concussion suffered against Boston College the week before. Backup quarterback Brock Domann would be the one making the start against Virginia, his first since transferring in from Independence Community College in 2021.
Domann didn't exactly have a season stat line that inspired much confidence. He was 6-of-16 for 92 yards and an interception heading into the matchup, including 1-of-8 for 19 yards in the previous game against Boston College, where he had to take the reigns of the offense during the final three drives of the game after Cunningham's exit. The latter was partially due to the fact that the coaching staff didn't produce the best game plan for Domann to get comfortable, but still.
Early on in Louisville's matchup against Virginia, it was evident that Domann still hadn't settled in. He completed just four of his first 15 pass attempts against the Cavs, throwing for just 59 yards and two interceptions in the process. That, combined with an inauspicious defensive start, and the Cardinals dug themselves into an early 10-0 hole.
His 44-yard rushing score to tie the game gave him a massive boost in confidence, and Domann settled in almost immediately. After his 4-of-15 start through the air, he flipped the script and was able to complete 13 of his final 15 passes for 216 yards and a 32-yard touchdown to tight end Marshon Ford.
Coupled with a turnaround effort by the defense, Louisville was able to go on a 34-10 run against Virginia, and capture their first win in ACC play this season.
Domann's performance over the final three quarters played a massive role in the Cardinals winning on the road, and fans took notice. In fact, in the days since this game, it has inspired a debate amongst the fanbase and pockets of the local media:
Should Brock Domann take over as the starting quarterback moving forward?
Quarterback shuffling is no stranger to these parts. Will Stein began the 2011 season as the starter until an injury made way for Teddy Bridgewater to take over. Kyle Bolin and Lamar Jackson took turns with starts in 2015 until the latter became the permanent starter. Even Cunningham found himself getting elevated into a starter's role in 2019 after Jawon Pass got hurt.
Fast forward to 2022, is there another quarterback controversy brewing in the 'Ville after Domann's turnaround game against Virginia? In my opinion, no. If you ask me, Malik Cunningham will, and should, remain the starter when the Cardinals take on Pitt after the bye week.
But, Domann's outing did add a wrinkle to the quarterback room.
Let's double back to Cunningham for a second. We know how gifted he is as a runner, and his abilities with his legs can single-handedly kill a defense. Quite bluntly, that's something that Domann simply doesn't possess.
But as a passer? Cunningham has been good, but incredibly inconsistent. Despite concerted attempts by the staff for (literally) years now, Cunningham still has moments where he doesn't go through all of his reads, and tucks it and runs after a couple quick looks. He also still struggles with overthrows that come at the worst possible moments (i.e., when someone is wide open). Without a true deep ball threat such as Tutu Atwell or Tyler Harrell, the deep ball just hasn't been there for him.
When fans see this, and then see how Domann was able to look as a passer against Virginia, you can see why many fans would be quick to call for him to be the starter moving forward. But if you look at the game plan that the staff produced for Domann, it was much different than others this season.
First and foremost, there was a concerted effort to get Ford more involved, which should have been happening anyways. Regardless, head coach Scott Satterfield and offensive coordinator Lance Taylor drew up plays to get Domann in a rhythm. Ford and wide receiver Tyler Hudson were schemed to run a lot of intermediate crossing routes, short throws to the boundaries, and very rarely run go routes right up the sideline.
Additionally, Ahmari Huggins-Bruce was utilized in ways that take advantage of his abilities in space (although they should have used him more, if you ask me), and the run plays that were dialed up were more of a traditional inside zone look. Not to mention that Satterfield limited the amount of run plays called on clear passing downs.
Not to discount Domann's abilities as a passer, because he did make a handful of really good throws in the second half. But you can make the argument that Domann had as good of a game as he did because the coaches drew up a scheme that not only got him comfortable, but was a scheme that they maybe should have been running from the very start of the season.
If the staff uses the same type of offensive approach with Cunningham that they did Domann, who knows what they are capable of. Plus, now there's actual film on Domann moving forward, and Louisville is going to face defenses that are much better than Virginia's in the second half of their schedule.
But now onto the wrinkle that I previously mentioned.
Let's say that the staff does implement a more effective offensive game plan moving forward with Cunningham back as the starter. In this case, what happens if his inconsistencies continue to show up?
Previously, Louisville was almost had to ride with Cunningham due to the fact that they didn't really have many viable options behind him. Domann aside, Conley is coming off of hip surgery and largely hasn't looked effective since 2019, Nathan McElroy is a walk-on and Khalib Johnson is a true freshman.
Now, the program has a bit more depth at the position with the added knowledge that Domann is a lot more confident as a passer, and can make good throws when presented the opportunity. Instead of there being essentially zero competition for the starting job, there is now a solid contingency option for Louisville if need be. Especially since it seems that Domann is a lot more apt to sit in the pocket and go through his reads than Cunningham is.
So let's say that Cunningham does remain the starter moving forward once he comes back from injury, which he will. If he has a game where he simply does not have it, Louisville now has the option to consider inserting Domann instead being forced to continue going with Cunningham.
Of course, that would likely require Cunningham to have an abysmal performance in order for this to come to pass, which is hard to envision given how talented he is. But it's not completely off the table given his various aforementioned inconsistencies.
So, is there actually a quarterback controversy brewing in Louisville? No. But the Cardinals aren't as thin here depth-wise as we thought they were.
As unlikely as it may seem, there is a theoretical scenario in which Domann could take over as the starter. But that would require both continued success on his behalf, a huge regression by Cunningham, and the staff continuing to produce a game plan that caters to the starter's strengths and weaknesses (which they should be doing anyways).
I guess we'll find out after the bye week.
(Photo of Brock Domann: Geoff Burke - USA TODAY Sports)
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