Louisville football avoids another portal scare after massive AJ Green update

Jeff Brohm is cooking.
Eston Parker/ISI Photos/GettyImages

Jeff Brohm and Vince Marrow continue to work some portal magic as Louisville football avoids another disastrous situation. Louisville football fans learned Tuesday afternoon that the Cardinals will no longer lose their star edge rusher, AJ Green.

It was reported on December 24 that Green was planning to enter the portal, but it appeared the domino effect worked once again, as Green is the third Cardinal to withdraw his name from the portal, after Antonio Watts and Isaac Brown.

Green was a top-100 transfer in the portal and ranked as high as No. 15 at edge rusher. The Cardinals have only earned five commitments from the portal so far, but Brohm and Marrow’s ability to recruit from within right now and keep their stars from the 2025 season is exceeding all expectations.

Related: 10 Louisville football players who definitely will not be back next season

Louisville football avoids another portal scare after AJ Green update

Entering the offseason, Green was one of the top players Louisville couldn’t lose. So, when the news broke, he was entering the portal, and the fans were completely heartbroken. The Cardinals had a dominant duo in Green and Clev Lubin a year ago, and the fans were dreaming of seeing them in red and black again.

Well, that dream just came true, as Green shocked the Cardinals fans once again Tuesday afternoon and elected to withdraw his name from the portal. The sophomore edge rusher is coming off a career season after playing in all 13 games. He logged 31 tackles, 6.0 tackles for a loss, 4.0 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery, which was returned for a touchdown.

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound defensive star was a massive piece of this defense, as he and Lubin were a duo causing chaos all year long. With Lubin announcing he will return and Green also returning, this defensive line is already trending toward another dominant season.

Louisville’s defense just got a huge boost in getting Green and Lubin back. Last year, Lubin led the Cardinals with 8.5 sacks, while Green’s 4.0 was third. Lubin also added 59 tackles, which ranked fourth on the team, three pass deflections, and three forced fumbles.

Related: 3 areas Louisville football must target in portal after landing Lincoln Kienholz

For all the latest recruiting news and updates for Louisville football, stay tuned.

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