The city of Louisville is buzzing around the Louisville football program as Jeff Brohm is building one of his best rosters since taking over as the Cardinals' head coach. Louisville is ranked as high as No. 14 in ESPN’s way-too-early rankings, and a large reason is because of their 30 additions from the Transfer Portal.
Louisville’s portal class ranks as high as No. 5 in the nation, as Brohm went out and not only landed five 4-stars, but he was able to recruit from within and avoid players like Isaac Brown and Antonio Watts from leaving. So, with the portal winding down and the Cardinals' roster for the most part set, here are five positions Louisville football improved drastically through the Transfer Portal.
Related: 10 biggest Transfer Portal commitments for Louisville football this offseason
5. Offensive Line
Louisville had to address the offensive line after losing four of its five starters from the 2025 season, and lost projected starter Jordan Church to the Transfer Portal. Two of the Cards' top seven additions from the Transfer Portal are offensive linemen in Cason Henry and Eryx Daugherty. The South Carolina transfer (Henry) commits to Louisville, ranked No. 249 overall and No. 18 among interior offensive linemen, while the Boston College transfer (Daugherty) ranked No. 223 overall and No. 13 among interior offensive linemen in the Transfer Portal.
Louisville also landed a true center in Kentucky transfer Evan Wibberley and received a big boost to its depth with the additions of Georgia Southern transfer Johnnie Brown III and Delaware transfer Anwar O'Neal. Last season, the Cardinals' offensive line was underwhelming as they got off to an incredibly slow start, but Louisville’s five transfers, plus key returner Lance Robinson, have this unit in a much better spot.
4. Edge
The Cardinals struck gold with the edge rush position as they were able to convince AJ Green and Clev Lubin to return, but also brought in Tyler Thompson and Jerod Smith II. Louisville has tons of depth on the outside of its defensive line now after adding Thompson and Smith, as not only are both former 4-star recruits, but both are coming off a career season.
Thompson went on to log 26 tackles, with 7.5 tackles for a loss and 7.0 sacks, while also forcing two fumbles and earning one pass deflection. He, Green, and Lubin all placed in the top 10 for most sacks in the ACC last season. As for Smith, he transfers over from Kentucky after collecting 27 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for a loss, 1.0 sack, and one forced fumble. Smith committed to Kentucky over Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia, and others and ranked as high as No. 89 in the 2024 class.
The Cardinals also added Jacob Smith, Jerod's brother, who hasn't earned much playing time but ranked No. 97 in the 2024 recruiting class after earning 103 tackles, 5.0 tackles for a loss, and 4.0 sacks his senior season.
3. Tight End
After Louisville lost Nate Kurisky and Davon Mitchell to the Transfer Portal, Brohm quickly went to replace his former tight ends from the 2025 season. Louisville landed its second-biggest splash this offseason from the tight end position after Brody Foley committed to the Cardinals from Tulsa.
The 4-star transfer ranks as high as No. 84 overall and No. 5 among tight ends, giving this tight end room a massive boost. Foley earned seven touchdowns last season on 37 catches while adding 540 receiving yards. The Cardinals also added Tulane transfer Justyn Reid for depth after his career-best season of 17 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
2. Quarterback
Louisville lost its top four quarterbacks from the 2025 season, as Miller Moss graduated and Deuce Adams, Brady Allen, and Mason Mims entered the transfer portal. With these departures, the Cards urgently needed multiple quarterbacks from the Transfer Portal. Jeff Brohm responded quickly, landing former 4-star and top-10 QB from the 2023 class, Lincoln Kienholz.
The Cards' QB1 is set, with Kienholz to lead Louisville in 2026. He doesn’t have much experience in his three seasons with the Buckeyes, but he has a high ceiling thanks to his crazy accuracy and athleticism. Louisville also added former Ole Miss Qb and West Georgia transfer Davin Wydner to add some depth behind Kienholz.
Kienholz is the fifth highest-ranked commitment from the portal this offseason as he ranks No. 160 overall and No. 18 among quarterbacks in the Transfer Portal.
1. Wide Receiver
One of the Cardinals' biggest areas of need was their wide receiver room. Louisville lost it top two receivers last season in Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy, and lost a handful of receivers to the Transfer Portal. However, after the two weeks of the portal window, the Cardinals landed multiple receivers, including two 4-stars in Tre Richardson and Lawayne McCoy.
Louisville’s biggest splashes are both 4-star transfers and both rank inside the top 100 overall portal players. Richardson and McCoy are two of the Cardinals top three additions this offseason with Richardson ranking No. 66 and McCoyr ranking No. 86 overall in the portal.
Outside of just them, the Cards added former Mr. Kentucky football, Montavin Quisenberry, Drake transfer Jackson Voth, and convinced Kris Hughes and TreyShun Hurry to return. The Cardinals' wide receiver room looks much different, but after the portal, the Cardinals are in way better shape.