Louisville football has added 31 commitments from the Transfer Portal this offseason, putting the Cardinals near the top of the On3 Sports Transfer Portal winners list. The Cardinals went on to land five 4-stars and 26 3-stars this offseason, and of course, everyone’s eyes will go to those big-time additions and those 4-stars.
Everyone is stoked to see Tre Richardson, Brody Foley, Lincoln Kienholz, Koen Entringer, and other suit up in red and black next season, but Jeff Brohm did add some under-the-radar players who aren’t getting a lot of love. So, with Louisville’s offseason being ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation, let's shine a light on three hidden gems that Brohm brought in this offseason who will exceed expectations.
3. Kaleb Beasley
Someone we were very high on and were pushing Louisville to attack was Tennessee transfer Kaleb Beasley. So, now that he committed to Louisville, it comes as no surprise that he is on this list. The Tennessee transfer is a former consensus 4-star recruit who ranked as high as No. 165 overall in the 2024 recruiting class.
He has the potential to make an immediate impact on this thin secondary. In high school, he was an elite ball hawk, recording 42 pass breakups and 41 interceptions while logging 93 tackles. He transferred to Louisville, ranked No. 949 overall and No. 88 among safeties, after playing two seasons with the Volunteers, earning 28 tackles and 2 pass breakups in 25 games.
2. Evan Wibberley
Cardinals fans currently don’t know who their starting center will be heading into spring practice. Louisville lost its veteran center, Pete Nygra, after he graduated, forcing the Cardinals to attack the portal. Louisville has Sam Secrest, who was Nygra’s backup, and has Lance Robinson if they want to move him to center, as he earned some reps at spring practice last year. But someone who might be a hidden gem addition for the Cardinals is the Kentucky transfer, Evan Wibberley.
Before his year at Kentucky, he played for Western Kentucky, where he was a dominant force on the Hilltoppers offensive line. Wibberley went on to log 553 pass blocking snaps and didn’t give up one sack, while he only gave up 10 total pressures in the 2024 season. The former All-C-USA honorable mention center has the potential to be one of the Cardinals' biggest under-the-radar additions this offseason in such a crucial position. Wibberley is ranked No. 999 overall and No. 78 among interior offensive linemen.
1. Joshua Donald
A player who will most likely make an immediate impact on this defensive line is the Houston transfer, Joshua Donald. The defensive tackle started his career at Southern, where he was a dominant force on their interior defense, logging 18 tackles, 4.0 tackles for a loss, and 2.0 sacks in his first two years. He then transferred to Appalachian State, where he started at nose tackle and earned 31 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, and 3.0 sacks.
With the Cardinals losing Rene Konga and Jordan Guerad, the interior of Louisville’s defensive line was a major area of need, and Donald has the potential to step in for the Cards' two major losses. Donald transferred to Louisville after he ranked No. 1,745 overall and No. 178 among defensive linemen.