Louisville football has dominated this offseason, as Jeff Brohm and Vince Marrow not only brought in elite transfers via the portal but also avoided nightmare scenarios of losing key pieces from the 2025 roster. Louisville added 31 transfers while losing 28 players to the portal, earning high praise from both 247Sports and On3 Sports.
Louisville’s offseason ranks as high as No. 5 in the nation by On3 Sports, while 247Sports ranks it No. 16 in the nation. The Cardinals' impressive offseason has skyrocketed them up in many way-too-early rankings, as Louisville ranks as high as No. 14 in ESPN’s rankings.
The Cardinals were able to keep major pieces like Isaac Brown, Clev Lubin, AJ Green, Antonio Watts, and others, while also bringing in 4-star transfers in Brody Foley, Marquise Davis, Koen Entringer, Tre Richardson, and Lawayne McCoy. Entering the offseason, Louisville fans had many questions, and while some got answered, there are still three massive questions Brohm and his staff must answer before the fall.
3. How good is the Cardinals secondary?
The Cardinals will need their secondary to gel this offseason as Louisville lost its top three safeties and one of its starting cornerbacks from last season. So, with Louisville’s defensive line trending to be just as dominant as it was in 2025, the Cards will need this new secondary to step up like the one last year did. The biggest addition was Iowa transfer Koen Entringer, but besides him, Louisville will need the other five to take a jump in their career.
Louisville went to the Transfer Portal to add many pieces to its secondary, adding three cornerbacks and three safeties. The Cardinals' secondary was the biggest question entering the 2025 season, and it is one of the biggest questions entering this season as well. Players like Kaleb Beasley and Santana Wilson have the potential, as they are former 4-stars, but Louisville fans will have to wait and see what this new secondary looks like.
2. What will Lincoln Kienholz look like?
The quarterback was the biggest question entering the offseason, as fans weren’t sure who would be QB1. Now that Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz is coming to Louisville in 2026, the Cardinals will have to wait and see if he is the real deal. Kienholz hasn’t earned many game-time reps through his three seasons with the Buckeyes, but his potential is incredibly high.
Kienholz ranked No. 193 overall in the 2023 recruiting class and No. 160 overall and No. 16 among quarterbacks in the Transfer Portal. However, after last year's experiment with Miller Moss, the Cards fans are eager to see what Kienholz looks like. Kienholz has only thrown the ball 36 times in three seasons, completing 58.3 percent of his passes and adding a touchdown. The Cardinals have a loaded running back room and solid additions on the outside, but Cardinals fans learned last year that a team can only go so far without a productive QB.
1. Who will be Jeff Brohm's DC?
Louisville football fans learned this offseason that the Cardinals will lose both their defensive coordinators, as Jeff Brohm went away from co-defensive coordinator Mark Hagen, and Ron English is reportedly stepping away to watch his son's final season at Navy. So, now, after the Cardinals' dominant offseason, and is expected to have a top-tier defense in the ACC, who will be Louisville’s DC?
The Cardinals' defense is loaded with talent as Clev Lubin and AJ Green return on the edge, while adding Tyler Thompson, who earned seven sacks last season for UNC. Also returning are three elite linebackers in TJ Capers, Antonio Watts, and Stanquan Clark, and in the secondary, Louisville got a major boost by adding Koen Entringer and Kaleb Beasley. There hasn’t been much noise around Louisville’s DC and who could possibly be the next hire, but as February is just 10 days away, the Cardinals fans have made it clear this is their biggest question waiting to be answered.