Louisville football just landed its third transfer commitment of the day, and this one the Cardinals fans know all about. The Cardinals just secured a commitment from a UCLA transfer, Benjamin Perry. The former Cardinal will return home after playing just one season with UCLA, and is now back to wearing red and black.
Perry announced on social media, “L1C4 Coming Back. Proud to get a chance to finish where I started,” and Cardinals fans loved it. Louisville fans have been showing nothing but love and support for the former Cardinal as he now returns home.
🚨 Ben Perry is coming back to Louisville.
— 35KYSports (@35KYSportsMedia) January 8, 2026
The veteran LB looks to finish where it started.
Career totals at Louisville: 132 tackles, 74 solo tackles, 58 assists, and 2 sacks since the 2021 season. pic.twitter.com/I6GTwW4hcQ
Related: Who's coming and who's going: Louisville football 2026 Transfer Portal tracker
Louisville football lands former 4-star commit in Transfer Portal
Perry initially committed to Louisville as a 4-star high school recruit out of Chicago. Louisville initially earned his commitment out of high school over many Power Four programs and big-time teams, including Colorado, Nebraska, and Oregon. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound linebacker was ranked as high as No. 164 in the nation, the No. 9 linebacker, and the No. 2 recruit out of Illinois in the 2021 recruiting class.
The returning Cardinal spent his first four seasons with Louisville, playing in 42 games. Perry was a three-year starter for the Cardinals and logged 132 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, eight pass deflections, 2.0 sacks, and a forced fumble. After his first four seasons with Louisville, he transferred to UCLA, where he played just one season with the Bruins.
In his lone season with UCLA, he played just one game in the season opener against Utah before being shut down for the remainder of the season with an undisclosed injury. Now, the former Cardinal returns to Louisville to finish his career back where it all started, at L&N Stadium.
Perry will now join a loaded linebacker room with Stanquan Clark, TJ Capers, and Antonio Watts. Perry is the 16th player to commit to Louisville, while the Cardinals have lost 23 to the portal. Louisville’s Transfer Portal class ranks as high as No. 4 in On3 Sports rankings.
Related: Players in the NCAA Transfer Portal that Louisville football reached out to
For all the latest recruiting news and updates for Louisville football, stay tuned.