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Louisville QB Miller Moss (7) passes during practice outside the Trager Center in Louisville, Ky. on Mar. 1, 2025. Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

2025 Louisville Football Position Breakdown: Quarterback

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 6:00 AM ET

As we inch closer to the start of the 2025 college football season, Louisville Cardinals On SI will break down each individual position on the Cardinals' roster. We kick off our positional breakdown series with the most important spot on the field: quarterback.

Position Roster Movement:

Returning (2): Brady Allen, Deuce Adams
Departing (3): Harrison Bailey (Transfer - Florida), Pierce Clarkson (Transfer - UCLA), Tyler Shough (Graduation)
Incoming (2): Mason Mims (HS), Miller Moss (Transfer - USC)

Projected Depth Chart:

Miller Moss (6-2, 210, R-Sr.)
Brady Allen (6-6, 220, R-Jr.)
Deuce Adams (6-2, 190, R-Fr.)
Mason Mims (6-3, 210, Fr.)
*Ryan Zimmerman (6-6, 235, R-Fr.)

*walk-on

Breakdown:

During the 2023 season, Louisville's first year under head coach Jeff Brohm, quarterback play was very up-and-down under then-starter Jack Plummer. Over the ensuing offseason, questions continued to pop up regarding the position, as the Cardinals brought in Texas Tech transfer Tyler Shough - a player who had struggled to stay healthy during his time a Red Raider.

Of course, as well all know at this point, this gamble by Brohm and his staff paid off and then some. Not only was he able to play a fully healthy season, he completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns to just six interceptions over the regular season. Combine that with a great showing in the pre-draft process, and Shough wound up getting drafted by the New Orleans Saints with the No. 40 overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

While the Cardinals lost an NFL-caliber signal caller (who's the favorite to be named the Saints' week one starter), heading into year three of the Brohm era, the quarterback room is still in a very good spot.

Just like last offseason, there's a shakeup at the top of the depth chart. On top of Shough moving on to the NFL, backup Harrison Bailey, on the heels of a standout performance in the Sun Bowl vs. Washington, decided to play his final season in college at Florida. Then third-stringer Pierce Clarkson, a fan-favorite who many believed could one day be the future of the program, opted to head back to the West Coast and transferred to UCLA (after a brief stop at Ole Miss).

Thanks in part to this, for the third season in a row, Brohm once again dipped into the transfer portal for his next starting quarterback. They had to fight off some fierce competition from Missouri to secure his commitment, but Louisville eventually was able to land former USC product Miller Moss, who will end his time in college with the Cards.

Most Louisville fans are already very familiar with Moss, stemming from his breakout performance in the 2023 Holiday Bowl against the Cardinals. In what was his first start at the collegiate level, stepping in place of Heisman Trophy winner and future No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Caleb Williams, he threw for 372 yards and a bowl-record six touchdowns to only one interception.

Then after three years of riding the bench with the Trojans, Moss was elevated to starter for the 2024 season. He put up some good numbers in his final season for Southern Cal, completing 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns to nine interceptions.

However, after starting the first nine games of the year, head coach Lincoln Riley benched him, which prompted Moss' entry into the portal. But while Moss certainly wasn't perfect during the middle of the season, he was also a bit of a scapegoat for USC's problems as a whole.

During spring ball, Moss quickly made fans in attendance forget about the fact that he was benched at all last season. His incredible accuracy was regularly on display, especially in the short to intermediate areas of the field, and on multiple occasions he threw the ball into some incredibly tight windows. While he's not a dual threat option and doesn't have the arm strength that Shough does, he still showed upper tier ability to navigate the pocket and use his legs to extend plays and get throws off, and he did flash some good deep balls on occasion.

Moss' best attribute is not a physical one, but instead his overall command of the offense and natural on-field leadership capabilities, which did appear in the second quarter of the spring game. Overall, he's the happy medium between someone who is a game manager, and someone that's a playmaker. Put him in a Jeff Brohm offense that's aided by one of the best rushing attacks in the nation, a deep cast of pass catchers and a good offensive line (which he didn't have at USC), and this offense has the potential to do some serious damage against the ACC.

Still though, developing a deep quarterback room in case of emergency is always a major point of emphasis. While the starting quarterback is the most important player on the field, the backup quarterback can sometimes be just as important.

For Louisville, they entered spring ball with a two-horse race between Deuce Adams and Brady Allen for the backup spot. Adams was the runaway favorite, but at this point in time, Allen seems to have that role secured.

Since following Brohm from Purdue, Allen had largely struggled immensely to adjust to the college level. At one point in time, he had even re-entered the portal this past winter before withdrawing.

However, something clicked for Allen over the final two weeks of spring ball. He went from routinely being off target and making bad decisions, to delivering strikes like he was prime Tom Brady and making throws that unleashed the full potential of his arm strength. He'll have to show this in an actual game, but at the very least, his confidence seems to have taken a massive step forward.

That's not to say that Adams can't work his way into that No. 2 spot. From his true freshman campaign last year to now, he has made tremendous strides in his overall game. For starters, he's without a doubt the most mobile quarterback on the roster, and he regularly showed this in spring ball both in how he extended and outright made plays with his legs. How much Brohm will utilize this remains to be seen though, considering his offense doesn't use the QB as runner very much.

Additionally, Adams was consistent with his arm strength all throughout the spring, routinely put good touch on the ball, and had great overall pocket presence. Not to put the cart before the horse, but looking ahead to the 2026 season, unless Brohm wants to go with a transfer for the fourth year in a row, I still believe Adams will likely step in as the starter. At the minimum, there's good competition for the backup spot, which will only elevate the two.

As for Mason Mims, don't expect him to see much playing time this season unless there is a catastrophic series of events regarding the three aforementioned quarterbacks. While he still had plenty of "freshman moments" in spring ball, which is to be expected from a true freshman trying to learn a Jeff Brohm offense, he did flash some good things at times. Him getting on campus as an early enrollee will certainly help in his overall development. The competition next season between Adams, Allen, Mims and even 2026 commit Briggs Cherry is going to be a fascinating one.

Overall, Louisville has to feel extremely good about the current state of their quarterback room. Some might view Moss as a downgrade from Tyler Shough, but he still brings a lot to the table, and is very good fit with both Brohm's scheme and the Cardinals' weapons on offense. Not to mention that you have a couple good backup options just in case.