Louisville football has a one glaring hole on their team, and it isn't even close.
Jeff Brohm and his Cardinals lost four of their top five cornerbacks, either to NFL Draft or the transfer portal. Quincy Riley, Corey Thornton, and Tahveon Nicholson all declared for the NFL Draft, and Aaron Williams transferred to UCLA.
Louisville football might have added Justin Agu out of Louisiana, and Rodney Johnson Jr. from Southern University., but going from Group of 5 competition to Carson Beck and Miami is going to be a huge hurtle.
The transfer portal window is open for 10 days, going from April 16-25, and players can decide if they want to leave their current program in a 30 day window. So, Cardinals have to start getting players on their radar, as they must fill this hole as soon as possible.
5 transfer portal players Louisville football must target to fill gaping hole
So, here are four names Louisville football must target to fill their major cornerback issue.
4. Kenan Johnson
Kenan Johnson will be a seventh-year senior as he played five seasons at Georgia Tech, and one year at Utah. He was a 3-star prospect out of Lake Minneola HS, as he recorded 12 interceptions, including two that were returned for a touchdown. His senior year he finished with five picks, and 37 total tackles.
As for his college career, he has played in 46 total games in six years, including 12 starts. Back at Georgia Tech he played in 11 games in 2023, where he had his best season with 29 total tackles, two forced fumbles, four pass breakups, and one interception. His best career game came against fellow ACC team, Wake Forest, where he had six tackles, and an interception.
3. DeAndre Boykins
DeAndre Boykins was four-star prospect and was ranked No. 175 overall, and the No. 6 athlete and No. 10 player in North Carolina 247Sports Composite. He was ranked as high as the nation’s No. 72 overall prospect by Rivals, and was their No. 3 all-purpose back and the No. 4 player in the state of North Carolina.
Boykin star season came back in his sophomore season where he started in every game, and had 67 total tackles, 48 were solo, seven pass deflections, two sacks, and one interception. He was named ACC Defensive Back of the Week after his stellar performance against Miami, where he had four tackles, a sack and an interception.
Boykins would bring great experience and leadership as well as he had a career high seven tackles in the ACC Championship game back in 2022. He had a season-ending injury his junior season and was limited senior year causing him to enter the transfer portal.
2. Jamier Johnson
Jamier Johnson was a unanimous 4-star prospect according to ESPN, 247Sports, and Rivals. He was the No. 215 overall prospect on ESPN top 300, and a unanimous top 25 defensive back in the class of 2021, as well as a consensus top 25 prospect out of the state of California.
Johnson committed to Texas and played from 2021-2023, before transferring to Indiana where he would go on and have his best season so far. His best season came in 2024, where he logged 25 total tackles, 25 were solo, and one interception.
1. Rickey Gibson
Rickey Gibson is a sophomore out of Trussville, Ala. and was a unanimous 4-star prospect by On3, Rivals and the 247Sports Composite ranking. He was a unanimous top 20 cornerback in the class of 2023, and was a unanimous top-25 player from the state of Alabama.
Gibson played two seasons with Tennessee and shockingly hit the transfer portal earlier this week. His freshman season, he was limited, and was mainly a special teams player, but this past season Gibson was one of Tennessee's best defensive backs.
The lockdown cornerback started in all 12 games, and logged 32 total tackles, five pass deflections, and one forced fumble.
These four cornerbacks are the clear top targets for Louisville football, an Jeff Brohm and his staff has to act fact to try and land one of these corners.
Spring transfer portal will open up on April 16.