Can Jeff Brohm Finally Unleash a True Dual-Threat Quarterback?

Can Jeff Brohm Finally Unleash a Dual-Threat Quarterback?

Jeff Brohm has spent more than a decade proving he can build elite offenses around quarterbacks.

Brandon Doughty threw for nearly 10,000 yards in his final two seasons at Western Kentucky. Mike White followed with a 4,363-yard season. David Blough threw for 3,705 yards in 2018, the same year Purdue stunned No. 2 Ohio State. Aidan O’Connell went from walk-on to NFL Draft pick.

At Louisville, Jack Plummer threw for 3,204 yards and led the Cardinals to the ACC Championship Game. Tyler Shough followed with 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Miller Moss became the latest experienced passer handed the keys to Brohm’s offense.

Different quarterbacks, different skill sets, similar formula.

Brohm’s best offenses have almost always been led by quarterbacks who do most of their damage with their arms.

That’s what makes Lincoln Kienholz so interesting

At ACC Media Days, Brohm said Kienholz brings “some dimensions and skills that we have not had before.”

Louisville Knows What Mobility Can Do

This city has had a pretty good education in mobile quarterback play.

Lamar Jackson turned it into one of the most devastating weapons college football has ever seen.

Teddy Bridgewater showed a resourceful version.

Malik Cunningham’s legs were a combination of boom, bust and survival.

Kienholz doesn’t need to resemble any of them. But this fan base understands the possibilities when the defense has to account for mobility at quarterback.

Brohm’s history makes that possibility even more enticing.

Brohm’s Quarterback History Tells a Clear Story

There is an important catch when comparing college quarterback rushing statistics: NCAA totals count sacks as negative rushing yards.

That can make raw rushing totals misleading. Designed carries, rushing touchdowns, explosive runs and a quarterback’s willingness to scramble often tell us more than the final yardage total alone.

Through Brohm’s stops at Western Kentucky, Purdue and Louisville, the pattern is fairly clear.

QuarterbackBrohm EraRunning ProfileBrandon DoughtyWestern KentuckyMinimalMike WhiteWestern KentuckyLimitedDavid BloughPurdueCapable play extenderElijah SindelarPurdueMinimalJack PlummerPurdue/LouisvilleFunctional mobilityAidan O’ConnellPurdueMinimalTyler ShoughLouisvilleAthletic, used conservativelyMiller MossLouisvilleEncouraged, but inconsistentLincoln KienholzLouisvilleLegitimate dual-threat potential

None of this is a criticism of Brohm’s approach.

O’Connell helped Purdue reach the Big Ten Championship Game. Plummer took Louisville to the ACC title game in Brohm’s first season back home.

The formula has worked.

But Shough and Moss provide an interesting bridge to Kienholz.

Shough came to Louisville with more rushing ability than we ultimately saw. At Texas Tech, he showed what his legs could add, most notably when he carried 25 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns against Ole Miss in the 2022 Texas Bowl.

It was reasonable to wonder whether Brohm might tap into more of that at Louisville.

He really didn’t.

Given Shough’s extensive injury history, preservation was likely part of the equation. Louisville needed its veteran quarterback healthy far more than it needed another designed run on second-and-6. The approach worked. Shough stayed healthy, produced the best complete season of his college career and became a second-round NFL Draft pick.

Moss presented a different opportunity.

Brohm challenged him to take the easy yards defenses were giving him when the pass wasn’t there. There were glimpses and a few scrambles that hinted at another dimension, but the leap never really came. He left those yards on the field..

Kienholz arrives with a different instinct.

He isn’t being asked to learn how to become a runner.

He’s always been one.

So, What Exactly Is Louisville Getting?

The college sample is still small.

Kienholz spent three seasons at Ohio State behind quarterbacks including Kyle McCord, Will Howard and Julian Sayin. He appeared in 10 games and attempted only 36 passes.

There isn’t enough college film to pretend anyone knows exactly what Louisville has yet.

But there is plenty of evidence that the athleticism is real.

As a senior at T.F. Riggs High School in South Dakota, Kienholz threw for 3,422 yards and 46 touchdowns while rushing for 1,435 yards and 24 more scores.

That’s not a pocket quarterback who happens to be fast enough to scramble.

Kienholz was a legitimate two-way weapon, and football wasn’t his only sport. He also excelled in basketball and baseball, finishing his high school career as one of South Dakota’s top all-around athletes ever.

His time at Ohio State didn’t produce much game film, but it did give him three years inside one of college football’s most demanding programs. The reports surrounding Kienholz consistently pointed to his competitiveness, preparation and willingness to work.

That part of his profile matters almost as much as the speed.

If Louisville is going to use his legs, he’s going to take hits. Being athletic enough to escape the pocket is one thing. Having the strength, toughness and durability to do it over an ACC season is another.

Mobility Doesn’t Have to Mean More Carries

The goal shouldn’t be to find out how many hits he can absorb.

It should be to make defenses respect the possibility.

Louisville doesn’t need Kienholz carrying the football 15 times a game.

Especially with Isaac Brown standing next to him.

The value of a mobile quarterback isn’t always measured by his own rushing total.

Sometimes it’s simply making a defensive end hesitate.

Is he keeping it?

If the answer might actually be yes, the defense has another problem.

The backside defender can’t crash quite as aggressively toward Brown. A linebacker has another responsibility to consider. Man coverage can leave open grass if Kienholz escapes the pocket. Third-and-8 doesn’t necessarily end because the initial reads are covered.

Four or five meaningful quarterback runs can affect how dozens of other plays are defended.

Brohm doesn’t need to rebuild his offense around Kienholz’s legs. He needs to make defenses respect them enough to create opportunities everywhere else.

For a coach already willing to use motion, misdirection, play-action and just about every formation imaginable, a credible quarterback run threat gives him another lever to pull.

And it could make life considerably easier for Brown.

The Balancing Act

Kienholz development as a passer will ultimately determine Louisville’s ceiling.

Brohm’s offense demands accuracy, timing, processing and command. Kienholz will have to prove he can consistently operate within that structure and make the right read. Jeff will get people open. Can he deliver?

Brohm has never needed a running quarterback. His offenses have scored points, won championships and produced NFL quarterbacks without one.

Now he appears to have a quarterback whose athleticism is too useful to simply become an escape hatch when everything else breaks down.

The challenge isn’t turning Lincoln Kienholz into a passer. Brohm has built his career developing quarterbacks and putting them in position to throw the football successfully.

The challenge is doing that without coaching away what makes this one different.

If Kienholz can become the passer Brohm needs while remaining the athlete he’s always been, Louisville may have something Brohm hasn’t often had available on his play sheet.

Not a new offense.

One more problem for a defense that already has plenty to solve.

And we get to find out what the Cards can do with it!