How Louisville quarterback Brock Domann's cool demeaner has prepared him for Fenway Bowl

In a week full of chaos and essentially three head football coaches for Louisville, Cardinals quarterback Brock Domann’s composure hasn’t changed.

He understood when former coach Scott Satterfield took the head coaching job at Cincinnati, described interim head coach Deion Branch as a lot of fun while preparing for Saturday’s Fenway Bowl game against the Bearcats and is excited about working with new head coach Jeff Brohm in the future. Where it would be easy to let the uncertainties that surrounded the program for about 48 hours create stress, Domann’s even-keeled personality can be chalked up to a simple cliché: take things one day at a time.

“Yeah, a lot has been going on, but we're all really excited, the guys that are coming back,” Domann said. “We feel like (Louisville athletic director) Josh Heird made the right decision (hiring Brohm).”

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Compared to Domann’s changing environments over the last six years, last week was not that bad. In the time since the Colorado native graduated from Pine Creek High School in 2016, he’s played for or been on the roster of five different football programs, including joining Louisville in 2021.

He started out at Ventura (Calif.) College in the fall of 2017 and helped the team to its first Southern California championship the next year. He then redshirted at Campbell University (NC) in 2019 and had a stop at San Bernardino (Calif.) Valley College before arriving at Independence (Kan.) Community College in the spring of 2021. There, he won the starting quarterback battle and earned an NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention nod.

Domann came to Louisville in the fall of 2021 and earned the backup quarterback position this fall. Four months later, he’s been the starter in 25% of Louisville’s regular season games.

Domann’s handled his career his way and capitalized on every opportunity presented to him. The latest will be starting in the Fenway Bowl against Cincinnati at 11 a.m. Saturday at Fenway Park in Boston.

“I don't personally remember a lot of the stats, but you remember the relationships and how you got to the place you've gotten,” said Todd Miller, Domann’s head football coach at Pine Creek High School. "I think that's something he's going to be able to take for the rest of his life. Against odds that probably weren't real good, he's been able to defy all of that. That's something you can take as a man for the rest of your life.”

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Playing with nothing to lose

Brock Domann’s 44-yard touchdown run against Virginia on Oct. 8 was like déjà vu for Miller. Domann made a similar play as a senior at Pine Creek. The Eagles were the third seed and faced second-seeded Chatfield — a more talented team, Miller said — in the Class 4A state semifinals on Nov. 26, 2016. They fumbled on the first drive of the game but managed to play Chatfield to a 7-7 tie late in the second quarter.

With 1:17 to go in the half, Domann burst through the middle of the field and scored on a 76-yard rushing touchdown. One quarter later, Domann threw a 24-yard TD to help Pine Creek win the game 28-14.

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“He wasn't the fastest guy on the field but he wasn't gonna get caught, and I think that there's a difference there, you know, that competitive greatness that comes out of people in those moments,” Miller said. “There's no analytics for that. There's no data for that. There's no stopwatch for that. Brock, throughout his career, has kind of done that. He’s always exceeded or won the moment. So, whatever the moment is, and his chance he's gotten, he's always made the most of it and that's a tribute to him.”

Similarly, there was pressure in Domann’s moment against Virginia. Louisville had just lost to Boston College 34-33 the week before. There were reports Satterfield might be fired if the Cardinals lost to Virginia, which was also 2-3 at the time. On top of that, starting quarterback Malik Cunningham was out with a concussion while starting running back Tiyon Evans was out with a lower leg injury. Domann was to be QB1 for the first time since starting seven games at Independence CC.

Just like his senior year against Chatfield, the moment at Virginia wasn’t too big for Domann. He threw for 275 yards while completing 17 of 30 passes with a TD and two interceptions in U of L’s 34-17 win.

Cunningham suffered a shoulder injury Nov. 12 that forced Domann back under center to close out the game against Clemson — a 31-16 loss — though Domann contributed a 31-yard TD pass to Braden Smith at the end.

Even in defeat, Domann’s perspective was bigger than the game.

“I wasn't even supposed to be here,” he said after. “I've bounced around JUCOs. I've been at the FCS level. Just being here is a blessing. I always knew I could play at this level, but the fact that I get this opportunity, I'm just so grateful. It's a testament to God and His faithfulness. I'm gonna go out there and sling it because I got nothing to lose.”

Seizing the moment

Lance Taylor was around Brock Domann for less than a year after taking his first offensive coordinator job at Louisville in January. In the time he worked with Domann, he said what impressed him the most was the QB’s leadership and confidence.

“When he steps in the huddle, the other guys are confident that he's going to make a play, that he's going to be able to move the offense and run our offense,” said Taylor, who took the head coaching job at Western Michigan over the weekend. “He has prepared like the starter even as the backup, and I think that that's shown when he's gotten his opportunity to get in and play.”

More opportunities fell in Domann’s lap when he started against NC State and won it 25-10 but lost the Governor’s Cup against Kentucky in the regular-season finale 26-13. The signal caller played in nine total games this year and racked up 866 yards with three TDs and five interceptions while completing 53.7% of his passes. Tyler Hudson and Marshon Ford have benefitted the most, totaling 331 yards on 23 receptions and eight catches for 112 yards, respectively, in the final three games of the regular season.

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Now with one final game ahead, Taylor, Satterfield and quarterbacks coach Pete Thomas are all gone. Cunningham and Evans opted out of the bowl to prepare for the upcoming NFL draft, while Hudson’s upcoming absence is assumed to be the same, though no official reason has been given by Hudson nor Louisville.

Despite most of Louisville’s current coaching staff being made of graduate assistants and quality control analysts, Domann isn’t panicking. He expects to win Saturday’s game and get Louisville to eight wins for the second time in four seasons.

“The fact that Deion played in New England, and we're going to Boston, and he's our head coach, we want to bring back a win for him,” Domann said. “We want to bring back a win for this team. Winning eight games isn't easy, so we want to accomplish that and we just want to get ourselves in the right direction going forward.”

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Fenway Bowl: Louisville's Brock Domann kept cool after uncertain week