Malik Cunningham Reveals Why He Chose to Return to Louisville

The quarterback for the Cardinals is returning for his final season of collegiate eligibilty.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In this current era of college football, roster attrition is something that every program has to deal with. Whether they want to start their professional career in the NFL or simply enter the transfer portal for a fresh start, there are a variety of reasons why a player could want move on from their current school early.

For Louisville, arguably the biggest question surrounding regarding roster management heading into the offseason was if quarterback Malik Cunningham would be returning for his final year of collegiate eligibility.

The dual threat signal caller has developed into one of the most dynamic playmakers - both through the air and on the ground - in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and is one of the most underrated players in FBS. That, combined with the fact that Louisville currently has minimal depth in the quarterback room, and a decision to come back or depart the Cardinals would have serious short term ramifications for the program.

Fortunately for Louisville, Cunningham didn't waste time making his decision, and drastically improved their outlook for the 2022 season in the process. Less than a week after Louisville's regular season finale against Kentucky on Nov. 27, the redshirt junior announced that he would indeed be returning for one last ride.

"Card Nation don't worry I'm staying home," he tweeted on Dec. 3.

It goes without saying that his decision to come back is a massive boost for Louisville. During the 2021 regular season, the Montgomery, Ala. native completed 62.0 percent of his passes for 2,734 yards and 18 touchdowns to only six interceptions, while also rushing for 968 yards and 19 touchdowns - which currently stands at sixth in the nation.

As for the reasons why he decided to come back, it wasn't just one factor that fueled his decision. Though he admits Louisville's overall performance did play the dominant role, with the Cardinals going 6-6 in the regular season.

"First, just the way we finished this season. I want to go out, for my last year, with a better record than we did in the past," Cunningham told reporters Friday. 

He also notes that, while he made vast improvements over his turnover-filled 2020 campaign, he still wants to develop as a quarterback. This could be due to the fact that despite the great numbers, he hadn't been generating very much NFL buzz.

"We got a lot of players coming back, and I just want to develop more on being a quarterback - which I did this year - but just take it to another level. Get some of those win backs, those close ones that we left out there."

One reason that he might not have generated that much national buzz was that he found himself lost in the shuffle of a tremendous group of quarterbacks in the ACC. His 308.4 total yards offense per game might be 14th in all of FBS, but it was fifth in the conference behind national leader Brennan Armstrong, Kenny Pickett, Sam Howell and Sam Hartman.

As a result, Cunningham wasn't even named to the 2021 All-ACC Football Team, despite being within reach of a 20/20 season. While he doesn't believe he's overlooked, he feels like he has something to prove in 2022, and that winning is the first step to getting more national respect.

"The stats come with winning, and we didn't win a lot this year. We won some good games, enough to get us a bowl game, but those accolades come with winning," he said.

Another factor that played into his decision to return was the legacy that he wanted to leave behind when his Louisville career was complete.

"Obviously, there's still a couple records out there that I want to put my name on," he said. "My teammates, I really love those guys. Coming back for another year with this coaching stuff, there's still some more than that I can do, and I will do.'

The two records in which Cunningham is referencing are Louisville's all-time total yardage and total touchdowns responsible for. His 10,445 career yards are good for fourth in Cardinals history, while his 98 career touchdowns is second. Former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Lamar Jackson holds both records at 13,175 yards and 119 touchdowns.

"That is crazy considering the yards he put up," Cunningham said when asked about the potential for breaking the records. "It's hard work, and timing, and just patience. That's what it's all about, and that's what I've been doing the last couple years."

Louisville still has on game left before they close out their 2021 campaign, as they are set to play in the First Responder Bowl vs. Air Force. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound signal caller is hoping to use the bowl game as a springboard for momentum heading into the offseason, and ultimately his final year.

"With bowl games, going into the next year, there's always momentum for the team who wins," Cunningham said. This will be a big, big finish for us on this season, considering how the season went. A lot of ups and downs, and to go out on top against Air Force - a very good team - it would be great to end the season that way."

Kickoff from Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Tex. against the Falcons is set for Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 3:15 p.m. EST.

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