When Briggs Cherry committed to Louisville in January, he was a relatively under-the-radar addition in the 2026 quarterback class. Now, after an impressive performance at the Elite 11 Regional in Ohio, the four-star from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is one of 20 QBs in the 2026 class at the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles, and a major offseason riser.
Cherry’s ascent is good news for Jeff Brohm, but it could also make the task of holding onto Cherry through the Early Signing Period a bit more difficult.
Louisville faces increased pressure to retain Cherry amid NIL shifts
In a conversation with On3’s Pete Nakos, Cherry spoke about his recruiting efforts for Louisville’s 2026 class, which just added his right tackle from the Baylor School, Charlie Edgeworth. While that may seem like Cherry is fully locked in with the Cardinals, he also revealed that he’s recently been in talks with the coaching staff at Ohio State, saying, “I’m pretty locked in with Louisville,” before adding, “I was in contact with Ohio State for a couple of weeks – they’re the national champions. You never know, there.”
With the Buckeyes supposedly sniffing around and Cherry’s surprise ascent to the Elite 11 Finals, the price could be going up to secure the services of the 26th-ranked QB in the 2026 class by 247Sports Composite – and just in time for NIL negotiations.
“I get to talk NIL when I get to my official visit on June 20th,” Cherry told Nakos, admitting that he doesn’t quite know his exact value yet. “But I know it’s coming, and my worth right now is rising, especially with all the Elite 11 stuff. I’ll probably just start with a one-year deal and work up.”
NIL is changing with the House Settlement going into effect on July 1, allowing programs to directly pay athletes out of the 20.5 million dollar pool of revenue sharing money. It is yet to be seen how the settlement will impact recruiting payments, but with a more finite amount of resources to work with this cycle, Cherry’s rise could mean a bigger piece of the pie.
Despite landing a quarterback in each of his recruiting classes since arriving at Louisville, Brohm has gone with a transfer portal starter every year. This time around, it will be USC transfer Miller Moss. Still, recruiting high school quarterbacks appears to be an integral part of his roster construction, so expect Louisville to do what it can to hold onto Cherry even if that becomes more difficult when negotiations begin during his visit this weekend.