By Josh Lipka

The University of Louisville football head coach Charlie Strong has named senior Adam Froman as the starting quarterback for the highly anticipated 2010 season, ending a three-person quarterback battle that has been going on since the beginning of 2009.

“Froman will be the starting quarterback and most of the spots are solidified,” said Strong. “The offensive line is solidified. Wide receivers are solidified. That was the position we needed to make starter.”

After naming the starting quarterback, one quality is expected: leadership.

“It’s all about leadership right now,” said Strong. “Some guys on the football team need to step up and be a leader.”

In the 2009 season, Froman, a transfer from Santa Rose Junior College, threw for 1,354 yards, completed 60 percent of his throws, and threw for a career high of 295 yards against the University of Connecticut.

Froman won the position over senior Justin Burke and sophomore Will Stein.

“We all have trust in our coaches,” said Stein. “We know they make the right decisions.”

The relationship among the three remains strong, regardless of the starting decision.

“I called Froman right after,” said Stein. “I told him I’m behind him 100 percent and, you know, let’s just go beat Kentucky.”

Stein started two games last season as a walk-on player, but is fully aware of the importance of his role as a backup on the team.

“My job is to be just as mentally prepared as if I was starting,” said Stein. “In an instant, I could be calling the plays.”

With the combination of a prestigious coaching staff and an expansion of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, expectations are on a continuous rise.

The quarterbacks are coached by a young but experienced coach in Mike Groh, who enters his first season with the Cardinals looking to build this program as well as his résumé. Groh was considered one of the greatest quarterbacks at the University of Virginia. Not only does he have experience at the top collegiate level – he coached as a graduate assistant for last season’s national championship University of Alabama team – Groh has experience in the NFL. He spent the 2000 season as an offensive assistant/quality control coach for the New York Jets.

Under Groh and new offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, the Cards will use the spread offense – something all three quarterbacks feel fits their strengths.

“It allows the quarterback to go and make plays,” said Burke of the new offensive strategy.

The expansion features 33 suites, 1,725 club seats and 13,000 chair back seats. Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium can hold over 55,000 people. The expansion also includes 1,100 reserved parking spaces, a new 60-by-20-foot LED video board and a pair of 345-by-3-foot LED ribbon boards.

“It feels more like a stadium,” said Froman. “When we go into that stadium, that’s an honor. That’s our home and that’s the place we have to protect.”

The University of Louisville football team kicks off its 2010 campaign with Froman at the reins against the rival University of Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 3:30 p.m. at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.