Pre-camp Louisville football preview: QBs

With preseason camp set to start on Tuesday, college football is so close we can taste it.

So, with that in mind, we'll review each Louisville football position group. We started with special teams and the defense, and we've moved on to the offense. Once camp gets going, we'll be updating our U of L page like crazy, and the closer the season gets, we'll review each opponent on the schedule.

The goal with this series is to give a snapshot of each position group -- who's coming back and who's new, if there's a fight for a position and what kind of ability the position group has -- before preseason camp starts.

Today, we finish with the quarterbacks, where WIll Gardner is poised to take over for Teddy Bridgewater and the rest of the group has a fight on its hands for that No. 2 spot.

Positions involved

Quarterbacks

Where the units ranked nationally last year

Scoring offense - 35.2 points per game (25th nationally)

Passing offense - 314 yards per game (16th)

Total offense - 460.8 yards per game (28th)

Passing touchdowns - 33 (15th)

Interceptions - 4 (1st)

Yards per pass attempt - 9.3 (6th)

Long passing plays - 177 plays for 10+ yards (7th)

Completion percentage - 70.8 (1st)

Rating - 171.9 (3rd)

Who's returning

QB Will Gardner, R-Soph.; QB Kyle Bolin, R-Fr.; QB Brett Nelson, Sr.

Who's new

QB Reggie Bonnafon, Fr.; QB Reggie Green, Jr.; QB Ethan Horton, R-Fr.; QB Pat Thomas, Soph.

Any position battles?

Gardner has the starting job after a strong spring, and there's a talent gap between him and the other options. But the real fight will be for the Nos. 2 and 3 spots, and that competition's between Bolin, Bonnafon and Thomas.

What to expect

Well, the final stop on the pre-camp preview tour hits what many believe to be the most important position on any football team. The responsibility that comes with the job goes to Gardner, a redshirt sophomore who studied under Bridgewater.

At 6-5, 226 pounds, Gardner is a big body with a strong arm. His accuracy and footwork are the main areas of focus this August as new coach Bobby Petrino tries to make minor tweaks to what's been a good start to Gardner's short tenure as Louisville quarterback.

When workouts and team events began after Petrino was hired, Gardner "ran to the front of the line," Petrino said, grabbing hold of the No. 1 QB spot as if nobody else had a shot at it. And in all fairness, the job was never really up for grabs. Bolin's coming off a redshirt and injured his knee in the spring, Nelson's never proven himself in his time at U of L and the other options didn't arrive until the summer

But since Gardner's taken the reins, his teammates rave about his leadership, his arm and his potential. He has a veteran group of receivers, offensive linemen and running backs around him, which will all help the transition. The biggest concern has to be the offensive line, where despite a ton of experience, the results aren't consistent. The right side of the line could be a trouble area, and Gardner's not the pocket artist that Bridgewater was. (In fairness, few are.)

After Gardner, as I said above, the fight for that No. 2 spot is wide open. Bonnafon, a local kid who brings athleticism and speed to the quarterback spot, has a chance to work his way into being Gardner's backup. Petrino spoke highly of him at the ACC media kickoff.

Bolin's injury was a setback to his summer conditioning, though he still got the chance to lift and stay sharp in a few other ways. He didn't get a stranglehold on the backup spot in the spring, though, and that was his prime chance to do it.

Pat Thomas is a dual-threat juco transfer who totaled just under 1,900 yards of offense last season at Georgia Military College. He's 6-4, 190, and led GMC to the NCJAA title game. I'm not sure he's ever going to start at Louisville, but he does give the Cards more depth at the position after a weak spring from the backup quarterbacks.

Keep in mind that there are two transfers who are ineligible this year, so I didn't mention them above. Tyler Ferguson from Penn State and Tyler Bruggman from Washington State were both four-star prospects out of high school and, depending on how Gardner and Bonnafon do this fall, could be up for a starting or backup job next year.