Mike Norvell previews matchup against Malik Cunningham, Louisville offense

The 2-0 Florida State Seminoles start their ACC schedule this Friday night as they take on Louisville on the road. The Cardinals have one of the most explosive dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation in Malik Cunningham, and Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell spoke on Cunningham’s ability ahead of their matchup.

“He’s such an electric player, he’s got a great arm, he can push the ball down the field, very accurate in the vertical passing game. What he does with his feet, there’s few people out there that can do that,” Norvell said. “He’s played so much, he’s tough, you see times where he takes a lot of contact, and there’s times where you see him pop right up and I think that speaks to who he is, the competitor that he is. He’s just a very dynamic football player with his arm and obviously his legs.”

Cunningham already has over 300 passing yards and over 100 rushing yards through his first two games of the season, and a key to Florida State’s game plan will surely be containing him. But he’s not the only threat of Louisville’s offense, as Norvell spoke about their other skill players including tight end Marshon Ford, who led all ACC tight ends a season ago in receptions.

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“You see their skill positions, some new faces there, guys that have good ball skills. The tight end we’ve seen him before, he’s a really good football player and what he does in the run game, what he does in the passing game. Running backs, very capable, hard runners,” Norvell said.

Norvell also spoke on the Cardinal’s offensive line and their effectiveness within head coach Scott Satterfield‘s offensive scheme.

“They’ve got a very experienced offensive line that’s returning, they are really good at what they do within their schemes, big outside zone, nakeds, play action shots, I mean these guys run it well,” Norvell said. “And they’ve had a few missed opportunities here early in the year, but it’s an offense that’s very dangerous.”

Louisville had a disappointing start to the season, falling to Syracuse in a 31-7 blowout loss in week 1. They turned things around in week 2 defeating UCF in a strong second half shutout performance by their defense. The Cardinals will definitely be looking to have a stronger in-conference performance against the Seminoles, as they face off Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.