Louisville QB Micale Cunningham named to 2020 Davey O'Brien Watch List

The redshirt junior from Montgomery, AL is the seventh quarterback in program history to be named to the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award watch list.

The preseason hype continues to build for the Louisville Football program heading into the upcoming season, as redshirt junior quarterback Micale Cunningham was been named to the watch list for the 2020 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award.

The award is presented to the nation's top collegiate quarterback, and Cunningham is one of 30 signal callers to be named to the 2020 iteration of the award's preseason watch list.

While the Montgomery, AL native did not make his first start of 2019 until the third game vs. WKU and at times struggled with injuries, he made the absolute most of his time while on the gridiron.

Over 12 games and 11 starts, Cunningham threw for 2,061 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 482 yards and six scores as Louisville went 8-5 and placed second in the ACC Atlantic Division. His completion percentage of 62.36% ranked as the fifth-best in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and had his passing efficiency of 194.79 qualified nationally (he needed to attempt just two more passes), it would have been second only to Heisman Winner & No. 1 overall 2020 NFL Draft pick Joe Burrow.

One of the best performances of his collegiate career came when the lights shined the brightest. In Louisville’s victory over Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl, he tied a career-high with 16 completions for 279 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 81 yards, which ended with him being awarded the Music City Bowl MVP.

Cunningham is the seventh Louisville quarterback to be named to the Davey O'Brien watch list, following:

• 2002 - Dave Ragone
• 2004 - Stephan LeFors
• 2005, 2006, 2007 - Brian Brohm
• 2008 - Hunter Cantwell
• 2012, 2013 - Teddy Bridgewater
• 2017 - Lamar Jackson

Sixteen semifinalists selected from the final watch list will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later on Tuesday, Nov. 24. The 2020 Davey O’Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN Thursday, Dec. 10, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.

The 44th Annual Davey O’Brien Awards Dinner is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas.

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