Transfer Portal Players to Watch for Louisville Football

The University of Louisville has had an unexpected, yet exhilarating seven days since the NCAA Transfer Portal officially opened. The transfer portal is designed to allow student-athletes to transfer to a different college or university in hopes of achieving more playing time, a new environment, or just a more favorable situation in general. Typically, the announcement of the portal opening is the main news story for collegiate sports.

However, for the Louisville Cardinals more than just student-athletes decided to change schools. Late into the night on December 4th, then-Louisville Head Coach Scott Satterfield submitted an official resignation letter to the Athletic Director Josh Heird.

Early the next morning on December 5th, a week ago to the day, Scott Satterfield accepted the position of Head Football Coach at the University of Cincinnati, which was a historic transfer in that this one coach is now involved in both of the programs that will be competing in the 2022 inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl this weekend on December 17, 2022.

Per his request, he has decided to remove himself from the situation entirely and has informed both schools that he will not be coaching either one of them. This puts both Cincinnati and Louisville in a unique position as far as coaching staff goes for this game.

Cincinnati’s previous Head Coach, Luke Fickell, accepted the position of Head Football Coach at the University of Wisconsin and took several members of his Cincinnati coaching staff with him, depleting those available for the Fenway Bowl. Now, with Satterfield filling the vacancy for the Bearcats, he depleted those available for Louisville as he took several members of his Louisville staff with him to Cincinnati.

However, just four days after Scott Satterfield left the program, Louisville hired Purdue’s Jeff Brohm, who also brought several members of his Purdue coaching staff with him to Louisville, and most-if-not all of them have previous ties to the University of Louisville. And this staff has already caused ripple effects in the recruiting process and the transfer portal.

With Brohm having several established relationships in the city of Louisville and graduating from both high school and college within the city limits, he has not only affected high school students who want to come here, but also has ties that could link him to college transfers who may want to come back home to play for him.

Here is a list of a few names of student-athletes who may want to come to Louisville through the transfer portal to play for Coach Brohm:

Austin Reed

The Saint Augustine, Florida native was a member of the 2018 recruiting class and his first collegiate commitment was to the Southern Illinois Salukis. He redshirted his freshman year and then decided to transfer to the University of West Florida, where he would spend the next three seasons. In his first year on campus there, he led the Argonauts to the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship as they defeated Minnesota State 48-40.

After three years in Ferry Pass, Florida, Reed entered the transfer portal again and this time committed to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. While in Bowling Green, the 6-foot-2 gunslinger threw for over 4,000 yards and 36 touchdowns.

Becoming a product of the portal, Reed has one more season of eligibility left and according to one Crystal Ball prediction on 247 Sports, it looks like his final collegiate stop could be with the Cardinals.

A three-star recruit out of DuPont Manual in Louisville, KY, Robbins already played his first collegiate stint with the Cardinals. The 6-foot-2 running back transferred out of the program in the spring of 2022 to join the University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels. This past season he rushed for 1,011 yards and nine touchdowns for a stellar outing in Nevada.

But after one season with the Rebels due to a coaching change, Robbins entered his name back into the transfer portal and could be one to watch out for to potentially come back home for one final season.

Devin Neal

Another native of the Bluegrass State, former Baylor safety Devin Neal announced his desire to leave the Bears after three seasons in Waco, TX. Ranked as a three-star when he was a prospect, Neal still has the ability to impact a team and he recently announced that he will be visiting the University of Louisville this weekend as a part of a large recruiting weekend that includes 2023 Louisville commits Madden Sanker, William Fowles, and Pierce Clarkson.

Stephen Herron

The 6-foot-4 edge rusher is a very intriguing prospect because he shares his high school alma mater with Head Coach Jeff Brohm. Both being graduates of Trinity and both being natives of Louisville could make a very interesting pairing and Herron’s elite talent could help bolster a defense that has now lost Caleb Banks, KJ Cloyd, Zach Edwards, Henry Bryant, and Dorian Jones to the transfer portal.

After the season is over, the Cardinals will also lose Yasir Abdullah, Yaya Diaby, Momo Sanogo, and Monty Montgomery to graduation and the NFL Draft. So, adding a top-tier talent in Herron would be an amazing pickup for Coach Brohm.