Bobby Petrino confirmed the suspicions of many when he stated on the ACC coaches teleconference Wednesday morning that he does not plan on revealing his starting quarterback before Thursday night's game against No. 9 Clemson.
"We'll just wait 'til tomorrow," Petrino said when asked if he was ready to name a starter. "There's a possibility that you'll see more than one quarterback in there, but hopefully we'll get in there and get off to a good start. That's the number one thing we're looking at is trying to start faster."
The fight to be the starter in Louisville's first ACC game would seem to boil down to true freshman Lamar Jackson and redshirt sophomore Kyle Bolin. After nearly leading the Cards to a come-from-behind victory over Auburn, Jackson got the green light to make his first career start last weekend against Houston. Though he showcased some of the next-level athleticism he was known for coming out of high school, he also was at the heart of four costly turnovers.
"We've been able to see the talent and the excitement that Lamar brings with his ability to run and throw the ball," Petrino said. "But he is very young, and it's a different game between high school and college. But we're going to keep working at it and he's going to keep improving. He is an electrifying player with great ability."
Jackson was replaced late in the Houston game by Bolin, who promptly led Louisville on two straight drives that resulted in touchdowns, and a final drive that ended with a missed field goal.
"Kyle came in last week and operated the offense," Petrino said. "He understands how the offense works and his experience shows. He was able to distribute the ball and move us down the field and get a couple of touchdowns."
Personal prediction based off of zero inside information: Bolin starts but there's a package for Jackson early in the 2nd or 3rd quarter.
