By Dalton Ray–

In December of 2010, Louisville football would change forever. Teddy Bridgewater decided to reconsider his commitment to Miami after the Hurricanes fired Randy Shannon. Former coach Charlie Strong swooped right in and Bridgewater committed to Louisville. Once Will Stein got hurt against Kentucky, Bridgewater took his chance and ran with it. The rest is history.

Fast forward four years. Much more under the radar, Lamar Jackson commits to U of L in August of 2014. After unsteady play at quarterback allowed Jackson to get playing time, he eventually ran with it as well. By the end of the year, Jackson began blowing up. The final two games now seem mediocre compared to what he’s done in the first two games of 2016.

In the last four games Jackson has played in, Jackson has totaled 1,802 yards and 20 touchdowns. Don’t worry, I’ll repeat that because it probably didn’t stick. 1,802 yards and 20 touchdowns in four games, that’s an average of  450 yards and five touchdowns a game.

This isn’t an article debating or saying who is better, simply a comparison. Both quarterbacks have polar-opposite styles but similar results: winning. While one may look at the numbers and automatically claim Jackson as the better quarterback, one has to consider the styles both played in.

Strong wanted to manage the ball and let his defense do the bulk work. Bridgewater was restricted and borderline kept on a leash. With the receivers Louisville had at the time, fans begged to watch Bridgewater simply sling the ball around the field and throw for 500 yards a game. But, the fact is that he didn’t played more and more into Bridgewater’s legend.

Bridgewater is methodical like a surgeon, just calmly sitting back and picking apart defenses. Throwing receivers in tight windows, making checks at the line and controlling the game. While Bridgewater was all smiles and one of the nicest people a person could meet on campus, defensive coordinators saw him as a silent assassin.

Bridgewater had some of his best performances exactly when you would want them, in the bowl games. Reaching a bowl in all three years at U of L, Bridgewater went 2-1. His hearty effort fell just short in 2011 against North Carolina State. The Sugar Bowl win was simply bliss for U of L fans. Louisville knocked off a top-five ranked Florida team and Bridgewater threw for over 250 yards with two touchdowns. 2013 was the closest fans would ever see to Bridgewater in the spread. Bridgewater threw for 447 yards and three touchdowns on 35-for-45 passing.

Bobby Petrino’s style is basically the complete opposite of Strong’s. Petrino wants to put up 600 yards a game and 50 points to match. Petrino’s mantra seems to mirror Jackson’s, much like Strong and Bridgewater. Jackson is about flair, swag and flash. Bridgewater is more reserved and quite.

Jackson is thriving in Petrino’s offensive system because Petrino is a offensive master-mind. And when Petrino is given a player with Jackson’s abilities, explosiveness is expected. It’s still early on in the 2016 season but Jackson has shown he’s the funniest player in the nation to watch.

Through both Jackson and Bridgewater’s freshman season, both had six wins under their belts. Bridgewater excelled in the passing category and Jackson claimed the ground-game stats, as one would expect.

Bridgewater’s freshman season stats: 2,129 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 64.5 completion-percentage, 66 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Jackson’s freshman season stats: 1,840 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, 54.7 completion-percentage, 960 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns.

These are very comparable numbers and both from true freshman quarterbacks. If one looks at the first 15, that’s when Jackson begins to pull away statistically.

Bridgewater through first 15 games: 2,705 passing yards, 16 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 77 completion-percentage, 89 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. 

Jackson through 15 games: 2,537 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 59.9 completion-percentage, 1,278 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. 

Jackson will leave U of L owning many records no matter how long he decides to stay. But, records don’t mean as much as winning on the national spotlight, like Bridgewater did. Sometimes fans get too caught up in comparing players from different times when they should simply appreciate the greatness. Louisville fans are blessed to have quarterbacks like Bridgewater and Jackson within two years of each other.

Graphic by Mitchell Howes / The Louisville Cardinal