Louisville football just finished its third and final fall camp scrimmage and will not focus entirely on week one against Eastern Kentucky. The 2025 college football season is set to kick off in just seven days as week 0 will feature five showdowns, including No. 22 Iowa State vs No. 17 Kansas State from Dublin, Ireland.
With the season just days away and fall camp concluding, the Cardinals are expected to see many underclassmen, specifically sophomores, take a massive leap this season. While some names are a bit more obvious than others, we are going to break down five sophomores who are poised to have a breakout season for Jeff Brohm and the Louisville Cardinals in 2025.
5 sophomores who will have a breakout season for Louisville football
5. TJ McWilliams - WR
A player Louisville fans might not even know about is the sophomore transfer from Minnesota, TJ McWilliams. The wide receiver recently received high praise from transfer quarterback Miller Moss, putting his name on the map for all of college football.
Moss revealed that McWilliams is a player who has stood out the most to him so far in fall camp, and he truly believes he can have an impact on the Cardinals' offense this upcoming season. With Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy getting all the attention, Louisville needs a few other wide receivers to step up, and Moss believes that, because of McWilliams' versatility to play inside and outside, it could be him who Louisville can count on.
The 6-foot-0, 190-pound receiver hasn't seen much action in college so far, but Brohm is known to find these hidden gems from the Transfer Portal, and Moss believes McWilliams is the next one.
Related: Miller Moss unveils Louisville's ultimate secret weapon after fall camp breakout
4. TJ Capers - LB
TJ Capers is a player Louisville fans are incredibly excited for, as he is one of the highest-rated commitments in program history. Capers is a former 5-star recruit who was ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation, and then decided to reclass and go to Louisville in 2023 rather than 2024.
While he has been sidelined due to a couple of injuries in the first two seasons, he now has a clear path to earn valuable minutes and take on bigger roles. Playing with or behind stars TJ Quinn and Stanquan Clark has the former 5-star poised to be successful.
Capers has been getting reps with the first unit all fall camp, and linebackers coach Mark Ivey has stated Capers is making strides this fall camp and is a player they are excited for. The 6-foot-2 225 pound linebacker is a player who will get minutes behind Clark and Quinn, but don't be surprised when Capers makes a big-time hit and he shows his worth.
Capers will take a massive leap this season, and he will emerge as Louisville's star linebacker heading into 2026.
Related: 3 Louisville football players already on transfer watch before the 2025 season starts
3. Adonijah (AJ) Green - DE
Another player on the defensive side who is expected to take a big leap heading into his sophomore season is defensive end Adonijah (AJ) Green. Coming off a season where he played in all 13 games, Green showed he can be a valuable defender in this league.
The 6-foot-6 250 pound linemen is expected to be a starter heading into week one and has been one of Louisville's star players this fall camp. Green has some big shoes to fill as Ashton Gilotte is now playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, but the redshirt sophomore has shown a lot of potential through his first two seasons and this fall camp.
Last year he logged 12 total tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. Green is a player who Mark Hagen has high expectations for this upcoming season, and after this third scrimmage Jeff Brohm made it clear that this defensive line is much better than people think.
Expect Green to be a key piece for this defense and a player Louisville fans look to for pressure on the opponent's quarterback.
Related: 10 Louisville football players generating the most buzz in 2025 fall camp
2. Duke Watson - RB
No. 2 is easy to predict, but it is, of course, the sophomore running back out of Georgia, Duke Watson. The Cardinals' star sophomore is expected to have an increase in role this season and be part of Louisville's dominant rushing attack.
Watson is coming back to Louisville after leading the nation in yards per carry with an astounding 8.9 yards per carry. He finished the season with 597 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Watson's 2024 season is a glaring reason why fans are so high on Louisville's rushing attack in 2025 as he had six games with 50 rushing yards or more, four games with 80 rushing yards or more, two games with 100 rushing yards or more and his best game came against Stanford when he earned just 11 carries but ran for 117 yards and three touchdowns.
Watson is poised to have an All-ACC caliber season, even as Brohm's RB2. He will earn more carries as he has proved he can be an elite tailback in this league. Expect Watson to be an essential piece in Louisville's offense in 2025 and be just as dominant as he was in his freshman season.
Related: Three more Louisville football players named to preseason watchlists
1. Isaac Brown - RB
And of course, the sophomore with the most breakout potential is star running back Isaac Brown. The true sophomore is coming off a historic freshman campaign, sparking a lot of hype and attention entering his sophomore season.
He has been named as the second-best running back in the league by multiple experts and is on many Preseason All-American rosters. Brown's resume is well known, but for those who don't know, he broke the program's record for most rushing yards as a freshman with 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He went on to earn ACC Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the All-ACC Second Team. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry, which ranked as one of the highest in the league with 100 rushes or more.
Brown is going to carry the load for this offense this season, and Louisville will go as far as he can take them. The true sophomore has the skills to be an All-American and Heisman candidate when the season concludes, and if he is, then Louisville might be playing in their first College Football Playoffs.
Related: 5 Louisville football offensive players in the running for All-ACC awards this season
For all the latest on Louisville football's offseason, stay tuned.