Louisville Football: Who should start at quarterback in 2021?

Louisville football landed Nebraska transfer Luke McCaffrey in the transfer portal, but will he start over Malik Cunningham in 2021?

Louisville picked up a big transfer this week in the form of Nebraska quarterback Luke McCaffrey this week which added some extra depth to the quarterback room for Scott Satterfield’s squad.

After impressing in short stints for Nebraska in 2020, it seemed clear that Scott Frost was going to stick with Adrian Martinez moving into the 2021 campaign and therefore the brother of Panthers star Christian McCaffrey decided to enter the transfer portal. It was a little surprising that he chose Louisville given the fact that he won’t be a guaranteed starter there.

There will be no one-year ineligibility rule because of COVID-19 so he will be able to play right away, but I’m wondering what he saw on the depth chart that led him to believe he would be the favorite to win the job.

McCaffrey has some good bloodlines and has shown flashes of dual-threat abilities, but he was a turnover machine for Nebraska last season.

Who should be QB1 in 2021?

McCaffrey definitely threw a wrinkle into the quarterback room with Malik Cunningham back and Evan Conley also there as a backup. Plus, freshman TJ Lewis could be a good one.

The quarterback battle should go well into the spring and carry over into the summer, but in the end, I believe Cunningham is just more complete of a player. McCaffrey might have those bloodlines and the ability to pick up big yards on the ground, but Cunningham has that same ability and he’s more careful with the football.

In fact, McCaffrey threw an interception once every 13 attempts last season and Cunningham threw one every 25 attempts. Sure, Malik needs to work on his ball protection and decision-making, but he already knows the system and he’s shown some progress.

If I’m Coach Satterfield, I’m putting all my chips in Cunningham’s basket because he has a high ceiling and once he realizes that, he’s going to be dangerous.