The redshirt junior will hope to bounce back from an up-and-down debut season as the Cardinals’ starter.
Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
As pretty much everyone in the city of Louisville expected, Scott Satterfield has named Jawon “Puma” Pass as his starting quarterback for the Cardinals’ 2019 season-opener against Notre Dame.
Pass split starting duties last season with the super athletic Malik Cunningham, who has spent the bulk of his second fall camp sidelined by a knee injury. True freshman Evan Conley is the only other scholarship quarterback on the roster. As a result of Cunningham’s injury, Conley has received nearly every second string snap this August.
A former highly-touted recruit who picked Louisville over Alabama and Auburn, Pass struggled in his first attempt to accept the reins from Lamar Jackson. He started nine games for the Cardinal in 2018, but was benched at some point in six of those contests. Pass finished the season with 1,960 passing yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
“It was tough, but I’m still thankful for the experience I got last year,” Pass said of last season following a recent practice. “I learned a lot. I feel like I’ve grown a lot, mainly as a person. I’ve grown as a football player too, but I’ve grown a lot as a person.
“I wasn’t ever lacking confidence. I just wasn’t having fun. That’s the difference. My confidence has always been there. I’m just having fun now. Nothing that happened last year was fun.”
Here’s hoping for the start of something significantly more fun a week from now.
