The 10-day spring transfer portal window is here, and the Cardinals have seen some players enter their names, which many were not expecting. Louisville football found out before the portal officially opened that offensive linemen Austin Collins and wide receiver JoJo Stones entered the portal.
While Stones was expected to be a solid receiver in the upcoming years, Collins's loss was massive. The elite interior offensive linemen had the best PFF rating last year and allowed zero sacks. Unfortunately, Jeff Brohm and his Cardinals found out on day one of the portal that a few defensive players would leave the Cardinals and shop for a new team.
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The Cardinal's defense luckily has some solid starters in these transfer positions, but it would have been nice to keep these players to provide much-needed depth. The Cardinals will try and compete for the ACC crown, but after a couple of blows on the defensive side, Louisville must start reaching out to elevate this defense.
Louisville football loses DL and LB on day one of the transfer portal
Saadiq Clements and Darius Thomas will enter the portal, causing the Cardinals to lose a couple of solid options in their respective positions.
Clements played for the Cardinals for two seasons but has seen the field only a few times. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound lineman has played in only three games last season, tallying 11 snaps. He is from Henderson, Ky., and was the No. 701 recruit out of high school in the class of 2023.
As for Thomas, he committed to the Cardinals in the winter portal from Western Kentucky, but the linebacker decided Louisville wasn't his home and that he would test the portal yet again. Louisville has two starting linebackers, Stanquan Clark and TJ Quinn, but the addition of Thomas was an outstanding snag for Brohm, as he would be a great backup.
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Last season, he started in 13 games for the Hilltoppers and earned an impressive stat line: 54 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four sacks, and a forced fumble. Thomas would have been a great addition to this elite linebacker room, but with Thomas leaving, the Louisville defense continues to get thinner.
These two players aren't going to make or break the Cardinals' season with them transferring, but Thomas leaving was a shocker and a bit of a dagger early on in the portal. Louisville must go all-in on the defensive side of the ball and really try to get some depth and some ballhawks in the secondary.
For all the latest on Louisville football's offseason, stay tuned.