If I was Bobby Petrino I wouldn’t name a starting quarterback - at least not publicly - before the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
Who will QB the University of Louisville football team when it takes the field against Auburn on Sept. 5 in the first game of the 2015 season? That’s been the most asked question of Petrino, the Cardinals’ coach, and among the squad’s fans since fall camp began.
Will it be redshirt junior Will Gardner, who completed 57.5 percent of his passes and threw for 1,669 yards and 12 touchdowns last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury?
Will it be sophomore Reggie Bonnafon, who passed for 864 yards and five TDs and ran for five more scores in leading Louisville to several victories, including one at Notre Dame, last season?
Will it be redshirt sophomore Kyle Bolin (pictured above), who came off the bench (and out of nowhere) to throw for 381 yards and three TDs in UofL’s win over archrival Kentucky in last year’s regular-season finale?
Or will it be true freshman Lamar Jackson (albeit a long-shot), who has been impressive in the preseason?
One person we know it won’t be is Penn State transfer Tyler Ferguson, who announced Tuesday that he is transferring again.
So, who is it going to be?
At this point no one knows, maybe not even Petrino. But maybe he does know, or at least has an idea, and doesn’t want to say just yet.
If I were him that’s the route I’d go. Why does anyone need to know? Especially Auburn. Basically the only reason to publicly announce a starter is to appease the media and fan base, but if I were him I’d keep Gus Malzahn and the Tigers’ coaching staff guessing, wondering if it will be one of UofL’s dual-threat quarterbacks (Bonnafon or Jackson) who will run out for the team's first offensive series of the season, or if it will be one of Louisville’s more traditional drop-back passers (Gardner or Bolin).
If I were Petrino I’d force Auburn to prepare for both styles, and all four QBs. Make the Tigers’ coaches spend more time looking at the tendencies of Bonnafon or Gardner or Bolin, instead of say, watching film on Brandon Radcliff and UofL’s other running backs. Louisville should try to take advantage of any conceivable upper-hand it can get on Auburn, which is a preseason Top 10 team with national championship aspirations. And the biggest advantage Petrino has over the Tigers right now is that they don’t know which quarterback to gameplan for. That’s why I think Petrino should do himself a favor and not name a starting QB before the team’s season-opener.
Photo courtesy of the University of Louisville Football Team's Facebook Page
