Louisville football: Taking one last look at the NCAA transfer portal
By Jacob Lane
Louisville football could still add as many as two new players to the 2020 roster. Is there anyone in the transfer portal worth targeting?
It took just one year for new Louisville football head coach Scott Satterfield and his staff to bring back sky-high expectations for the program. Considering where things were just 16 months ago, it’s incredible to believe the Cards could find themselves back in the top 25 in 2020 behind their dynamic offense led by Micale Cunningham, Javian Hawkins, and Tutu Atwell.
Satterfield and the Cards stand to benefit from both roster and coaching continuity from 2019 to 2020, as for the first time since the 2016 season the team will employ the same defensive coordinator for two straight seasons while only losing three primary defensive starters.
The recruiting prowess of the Louisville football was on full display in 2020 as the coaching staff put together one of the most impressive recruiting runs we’ve seen, landing nearly 25 commitments in a matter of four months.
The 25-man class will bring several instant impact players on both the offensive and defensive lines, where depth was a clear factor all season long in 2019. Much like we saw in 2019-20 with Chris Mack, the expectations will be sky high as the experienced holdovers will be complemented with a full-class of players hand-picked to fit into the new system of play.
Due to player deflections and a few transfers, Louisville still holds as many as two roster spots available for the 2020 season that they may look to fill before offseason training gets underway – assuming that it does. While the Cards did just add a graduate transfer in UConn offensive lineman Cam DeGeorge, the late additions made in 2019 show that the staff isn’t afraid to add players as they see fit late from the transfer portal.
Depth won’t be nearly the issue for Louisville in 2020 that it was last season, which will help the Cards to take another step forward. However, Satterfield and his staff will be throwing a ton of freshmen into playing action who may not quite be ready to achieve at the level needed. There is plenty of talent on the roster for Louisville, especially on offense, but adding a player or two who can meet a need and provide experience is always worth considering.
As we’ve seen for Chris Mack and Louisville basketball, the impacts of COVID-19 have led to strict recruiting restrictions preventing any travel or face-to-face meetings. While virtual recruiting is happening, for a staff that likes to meet players and get to know them, their family, and their character, it may be a far stretch to think that adding another player is a possibility.
However, we are going to operate as if things are going to get back to normal this summer for football and that adding players to the roster still could be something that happens – just later than usual.
So with that being said, we’ve taken another look at the NCAA Transfer Portal to see if there are any players who are available for the 2020 roster (with immediate eligibility)