Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater focusing on team, not Heisman campaign

Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater threw for 3,718 yards and 27 TDs as a sophomore. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images) By Zac Ellis Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater

Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater threw for 3,718 yards and 27 TDs as a sophomore. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater capped a stellar sophomore season by passing for 266 yards and two touchdowns to spark the Cardinals' upset of Florida in the Sugar Bowl. The win effectively launched Bridgewater's candidacy for the 2013 Heisman race, but the quarterback wants to slow the campaign before it fully gets off the ground.

Bridgewater met with head coach Charlie Strong and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson to request that the program focus on the team rather than his individual Heisman campaign, according to WDRB in Louisville. Strong said the team will honor its star player's request.

"We're going to let Teddy go and play," Strong said. "Teddy doesn't want to let people down and he doesn't want all of the attention. He wants to win first and foremost."

short list of early Heisman candidates

as the second overall pick