By Paul Sykes
When you look back at the Louisville-Kentucky series, the list of quarterbacks is impressive.
Redman, Brohm, LeFors, Ragone and Cantwell for the Louisville. Couch, Lorenzen, Woodson and Boyd for Kentucky. This season’s starters don’t have the name recognition and skills but neither coach is putting major pressure and responsibilities on them either.
Although this is his second season, Louisville fans really don’t know what to expect from Froman. He’s still pretty much of an unknown, as is Mike Hartline from the Lexington school. The coaches just want them to maintain, getting the ball to the running backs and wide receivers while avoiding costly turnovers.
- Louisville — Froman won a three way battle for the position over Will Stein and Justin Burke. U of L head coach Charlie Strong is looking for Froman to just operate the offense and get the ball to the right guys in the multiple options in Mike Sanford’s spread offense. Froman calls the Cardinal attack “fun” and likes the aggressive options available. He’ll have a strong, experienced offensive line and will help shape the “identity” that Strong says the Cards need to establish
- Kentucky — Mike Hartline returns as a starter, beating out Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski for the snaps. His job will be to “feed the studs” like Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke…guys that are proven game changers. The debate on the Lexington campus is whether Hartline is the right call, and UK will probably use Cobb and Newton under center in certain situations. Joker Phillips defends his decision to go with Hartline, saying that he is “the experienced guy and he’s going fast, being more efficient with things we want to get done.”
Advantage: Kentucky. Hartline never lost to a Steve Kragthorpe-coached team, and the Cats have options in Cobb and Newton if Hartline is ineffective. Neither starting quarterback is a powerhouse.