Louisville football: FCS Graduate transfer LB to visit the Cards

Scott Satterfield and the Louisville football staff have a visit planned with Colgate graduate transfer TJ Holl.

With less than a month until National Signing Day, new Louisville football head coach Scott Satterfield and his staff have been on the road recruiting like crazy. Through tracking Twitter and recruiting services, the Louisville staff have already extended over 20+ offers in the last two weeks since the dead period ended to a variety of players from all over the United States.

Just like when Chris Mack was hired and he said the basketball program would look high and low to find the best players to add to the roster, Scott Satterfield and company have pulled out all the stops to find players to fill the 11 scholarships that remain available for next season.

Whether it’s high school seniors in the class of 2019, transfers, JUCO players, or even graduate transfers, the Cards are offering anybody and everybody who fit their system. One of those players, will officially visit Louisville in February according to Rivals Chris Person. His name is TJ Holl.

Holl is a graduate transfer who has spent the last four years playing at FCS program Colgate. While an FCS player might seem like a reach for a program like Louisville, Holl has proven to be one of the best linebackers across the country.

The 6’1, 230 pound inside linebacker served as the Colgate defensive captain and was one of the biggest reasons why the Raiders finished the season with one of the top defenses in the FCS ranks. Holl put together a monster season, finishing 2018 with 121 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 interceptions. (stats courtesy of Chris Person). The Colgate linebacker racked up the accolades during his final season playing for the Raiders, highlighted by being named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year.

Holl is a big, physical linebacker who literally can do just about anything on the field. While he’s not the fastest player, an area you think he may struggle in moving into the ACC, his vision, ability to get off blocks, and pursue ball carriers makes him one of the biggest names on the transfer market.

You can watch Holl’s 2018 highlights here.

The Cards have a big need for physical linebackers as they currently only have two “true” linebackers in Dorian Etheridge, who led the team in tackles his freshman season, and sophomore Robert Hicks, who never was able to get consistent playing time under Brian VanGorder though he looked like a future star when he did get out on the field.

Adding Holl to the mix would give the Cards a big physical and experienced linebacker to go with the speed and athleticism of guys like Nick Okeke, PJ Blue, Yassir Abdullah, and CJ Avery who proved they could be quality players in certain situations. Bryan Brown is known for having linebackers who are able to do a variety of things including both stopping the run and playing in pass coverage.

The Cards have several other linebackers that they are currently purusing, including Allen Smith – who is expected to visit the Ville this weekend. Satterfield and his staff also received a commitment from former Indiana commit, Dorian Jones, during the early signing period in December.

Holl would be a huge addition to the Cards next season, even with just one year of eligibility remaining, and is certainly a name you should keep an eye on moving forward.