Why ACC analysts are saying Louisville's Malik Cunningham has 'got to win'

CHARLOTTE — Malik Cunningham was hard to miss.

Louisville’s quarterback sported a red suit from Men’s Wearhouse to go along with a pair of red and white Prada sneakers when he showed up to the ACC Kickoff on Wednesday. To some, the look was very reminiscent of the red and black velvet suit former Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson wore the night he won the Heisman Trophy.

Cunningham said the Cardinals' great didn't inspire the look despite the similarities. It’s not the first time the two have been compared, though, and it certainly won’t be the last. Like Jackson, Cunningham aspires to win the Heisman and go to the NFL, feats some don’t think are all that unlikely.

“You could argue that if Malik Cunningham was at Clemson, if he was at Alabama, if he was at Ohio State, whatever, he would be much more in that Heisman conversation,” ACC analyst Kelly Gramlich said. “But in the end, and we saw this a little bit with Lamar, you got to win, even though Lamar did win the Heisman with the team that didn't win 10 games. You need other guys to help you out.”

Gramlich called Cunningham, who was recently named to the Davey O’Brien and Maxwell Award watch lists, the ACC’s best true dual-threat quarterback.

Last season, the Alabama native had a conference-leading 20 rushing touchdowns, and threw for 19 more, and became the second quarterback in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards on the strength of three 100-yard rushing games.

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For as dynamic of a runner as he’s proven to be, Cunningham has shown balance with an arm that’s just as effective. He completed 62% of his passes for 2,841 yards and 19 touchdowns in the air with two 300-yard passing games at Wake Forest (309) and at Duke (303). His passing efficiency ranked 38^th among the nation’s quarterbacks behind conference QBs like Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke (11^th), NC State’s Devin Leary (19^th) and Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong (22^nd), all of whom are back this year.

The quarterback helped Louisville average 31.6 points (41^st in the country) and 446.3 yards per game (21^st).

“I think his ability to throw the ball is underrated,” ACC analyst Roddy Jones said of Cunningham. “You go back and you watch last year. Are there times where he may pull the ball down and run a little sooner than you'd love? Sure, but he's so dynamic with his feet, that that balance is always going to be hard, but looking at the way he threw the ball for the majority of last season, I thought it was one of the more one of the underrated parts of his game, especially his ability to throw on the run when he breaks down the pocket.”

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Going into his final season at Louisville, the key for Cunningham will be consistency and to translate the stats into wins. The Cardinals (6-7 in 2021) are coming off their second-straight losing season with four of their seven losses coming by seven or fewer points. This year’s backloaded schedule doesn’t leave much room for error but will require Cunningham to step up and be a leader for his squad.

“I think NFL teams will see what he can do and if they like it, they'll like it. If they don't, they won't no matter what the results are,” Jones said. “But in terms of his national perspective, like getting respect in college football, they’ve got to win games. They're gonna have to win eight, nine, 10 games in order for him to be in the running for some of these major awards.”

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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: ACC Media Days: What analysts are saying about Louisville QB Malik Cunningham