The Cardinal Countdown: 4 Days Until Kickoff

#4 Jawon Pass

Class: RS Senior

Ht/Wt: 6-4/228

Position: Quarterback

Hometown: Columbus, GA

Twitter: N/A

Thoughts: I brought this up a couple seasons ago on the countdown but I think Jawon ‘Puma’ Pass earns the title for one of the most discussed football players on Card Chronicle. The name first surfaced during the recruitment of his brother Khane starting back in late 2013/early 2014 meaning we are over six years removed from it’s first utterance around these parts. A quick search shows some form of ‘Jawon Puma Pass’ has been mentioned in a comment over fifteen thousand times, bolstered some by his last name of course, but noteworthy none the less. Jawon has been around awhile, and this will most likely be his final season in red.

Jawon came into the program as a highly touted Top 10 QB nationally but was going to have arguably the toughest act to follow in the history of the program. Taking over for the most decorated QB since Louisville first snapped the ball was a challenge in and off itself but coming out as the starter for the first time against Alabama ain’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat either. Pass played a nice game against Bama in 2018 and I thought things were going to be okay. Then they weren’t. While 2018 was a season to forget 2019 Pass won the starting job again in the new Satterfield offense that suited his skillset a bit better and things once again started out against a tough opponent (ND) but Pass played well overall, and then he played well against EKU. His first two games resulted in 330 passing yards, 104 rushing yards, 6 total touchdowns, and one interception. A rough extrapolation over twelve games could have resulted in Pass putting up a 2,000/500 yard split for the season with around 30 TDs. I know we’re talking hypothetical here but that would have been amazing. Turns out, that’s nearly exactly what we got…only it was from Cunningham instead of Pass. Take a peak at some of the plays Pass made against EKU in the clip below where he showed he can run the offense with some success.

A foot injury in 2019 ended up holding Jawon out of the lineup for a few weeks and even once Puma was healthy enough to see action there was no need to rush him back out there with Cunningham playing so well. So, where does that leave us in 2020?

It’s improbable that Cunningham, a consensus Top 4 QB in the ACC who is getting early Heisman odds will be bumped out of his starting spot, but Coach Ponce indicated that a healthy Pass has earned the backup spot once again, even over a QB like Conley that actually played more frequently than Pass did last year. We all know the challenges for Pass at this point. The long throws have been an issues, ball security is an issue, and overall consistency has been a problem. Outside of a couple throws he would want back against ND and the lost ball turnovers I saw enough to let me feel confident that Jawon can once again be a leader on offense and if we were to lose Cunningham either temporarily or for an extended period, Pass can get the job done in this offense. While the road hasn’t been without it’s bumps I appreciate the dedication Pass has shown in trying to improve and always sticking with the program during the last five years.

Sweet Tweet: Since Jawon doesn’t have an active twitter now is a great time, less than a week until kickoff, to go over the new stadium plans/restrictions

-Stadium at 20% capacity (approx. 12,000 fans)

-No tailgating allowed (no grills, tents, trailers, etc)

-Gates will open 90 minutes before kickoff

-Temperature Checks at entrance

-Face masks required at all times (except eating/drinking)

-Party deck regulars will be forced to actually watch the football game as no loitering will be allowed.

-No complaining about people standing up and blocking your view

-No leaving early to beat traffic