Louisville football: Breaking down the 2023 transfer portal defensive players

Cam’Ron Kelly – Safety – University of North Carolina / UVA – 3-Star Transfer

And what’s better than adding one former All-ACC defensive back from Chapel Hill? Adding two.

Cam’Ron Kelly has an eerily similar past to his former UNC teammate and now current Louisville teammate, Storm Duck.

They both played a good amount in their freshman seasons but were forced to sit out due to injuries. They’ve both been voted as All-ACC players, and they both decided to transfer elsewhere for their senior seasons. Duck initially chose Penn State then Louisville, while Kelly initially chose Virginia and then Louisville.

And just like Duck, Kelly brings a ton of high-level playing experience to this defensive backfield. Kelly appeared in more than 40 games for the Tar Heels over the last four seasons, starting in 25 of those games.

Kelly’s best season came as a junior in 2021 where he racked up 69 tackles and four interceptions. That impressive total landed him on the All-ACC 3rd team.

2022 saw Kelly start all 12 games, but his numbers dropped just a bit to 49 tackles and one interception, but, still, that’s a very solid year. After another impactful senior year, Kelly decided to transfer to Virginia in January, but following Louisville’s spring game, Kelly decided to join a long list of players that transferred to the cards post-spring.

The Cardinals bring back safeties M.J. Griffin and Josh Minkins, but fans should still expect to see a lot of Kelly this season. At Purdue, Brohm played a 4-2-5 defense that preferred more speed and one extra defensive back on the field, so expect to see a lot of defensive backs rotating in and getting playing time this year.

I expect Kelly to fill in as a depth piece behind either Josh Minkins or M.J. Griffin, but he could very easily claim one of those starting spots. Regardless of where he plays, expect to see Kelly making an impact on this team next season.