Louisville has perhaps one of the most suitably named quarterback ready to lead the offense in the season opener Monday night against Notre Dame. Jawon Pass has been named the starting quarterback for the Cardinals by new head coach Scott Satterfield.
Pass was the most likely candidate for the starting job, especially after an injury cost Malik Cunningham a shot to win the starting job. Pass was Louisville’s leading passer with 1,960 yards and eight touchdowns last season, mostly serving as the team’s starter. However, Pass and Cunningham split playing time later in the season as Pass proved to have some issues with interceptions (12 picks thrown) and inconsistent pass accuracy. Cunningham was slightly better with accuracy but still had room for improvement as well.
Fortunately for Satterfield, he feels Pass has really come along since the former Appalachian State head coach moved to Louisville.
“There’s times when he looks unbelievable, like really, really good,” Satterfield said. “Obviously, he’s a big, tall and strong quarterback. When he stands in there and really follows through he looks how you are supposed to look. There’s times when his footwork is off and the ball sails on him, but he’s gotten a lot better than that. I think he has an opportunity to really have a good season and play well for us.”
Satterfield also noted Cunningham has returned to practices and is working his way back into the mix, whether that means as a starter or a solid back-up option still to be determined later.
“A lot of it depends on what he does in the next couple of days,” Satterfield said. “You know, he is looking good. I mean he is throwing the ball; he is doing a lot of good things. With Malik his strength is running, and you want to be able to do that 100 percent so well know a lot more of it come the end of the week.”
Pass will get his first test Monday night against a Notre Dame team coming off a College Football Playoff appearance, and the Fighting Irish tend to bring some good defense to the field.
