Mike Norvell reveals how Florida State is trying to simulate Malik Cunningham

Malik Cunningham is one of the most explosive dual-threat quarterback in the country, and emulating the Louisville star is nearly impossible without the real thing. That doesn’t mean teams can’t try, though, and Florida State is no exception.

“One of the things is Travis Jay has really been helping us some in that as a former quarterback and it’s been a good way to be able to replicate it,” Norvell said. “Obviously our other quarterbacks are still – Jay’s doing a really nice job – but there’s some special talents that that Malik has that are hard to simulate, so Travis done has done a good job jumping over there and being able to to help us with some of that.”

Jay, a defensive back at Florida State, led his high school to 38 wins in 40 total starts along with back-to-back 1A Florida State Championships under center. During his senior year, Jay had over 1,000 yards through the air and on the ground with 33 total touchdowns. Based off experience, those stats are the closest thing Florida State has to Cunningham – and is perfect for Norvell’s defense when practicing against Louisville’s schemes this week in practice.

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Through two games this season, Cunningham’s dual-threat ability has been on full display. Throwing for 353 yards and rushing for 155 more, the Louisville signal caller has only accounted for one touchdown so far this season and has thrown two interceptions.

That being said, Florida State has come firing out of the gates this season through two games. After blowing out Dusquesne 47-7 in Week 0, the Seminoles came back and upset LSU 24-23 in the Tigers’ backyard, spoiling Brian Kelly’s debut in the process.

FSU QB1 Jordan Travis – who played his true freshman season at Louisville before transferring in 2019 – has had a decent season under center as well. Accounting for 509 yards of total offense, the game could come down to who performs better under center.