Louisville Football has to address this team's No. 1 weaknesses after the spring practice as the Cardinals begin to prepare for the 2025 season. Many fans are calling for head coach Jeff Brohm and his staff to take action and recruit some elite playmakers, specifically some defensive backs.
The Cardinals lost four of their top five defensive backs from last year, and Louisville will now try to replace those corners and safeties. The spring transfer portal opened yesterday, and some massive names from big-time programs are flying into it.
The most recent name should draw attention from a lot of schools, including the Louisville Cardinals. He will be hard to get, but Brohm and his staff should contact him as he would immediately be the Cardinals' CB1 in the 2025 season.
Louisville football's No. 1 phenom target in 2025 transfer portal is clear
Louisville's defensive backs played a solid game on Friday night in the Cardinals' Spring game, but there is a new transfer portal entry that should be targeted by the Cardinals' coaching staff. Penn State found out their elite freshman cornerback will enter the transfer portal, and Brohm must go after this former and current 4-star corner.
Related: 2025 Spring Transfer Portal Tracker for the Louisville Football Program
Jon Mitchell is a 4-star cornerback in the transfer portal and is the top corner available, according to On3 Sports. He is ranked as the No. 13 cornerback to enter both transfer portals and is ranked No. 94 overall for the December and April transfer portals. Mitchell has one of the highest ceilings of players available as he was a consensus 4-star recruit out of Florida and was ranked No. 83 overall, the No. 9 cornerback, and the No. 12 recruit out of Florida in the class of 2024, according to On3 Sports.
The freshman corner has enormous potential as in his senior year of high school, he earned a spot on the All-Gateway Conference first-team after his impressive senior year stat line of 71 tackles and six tackles for loss. He also went on to secure four interceptions and 15 pass breakups.
The Cardinals will need some elite speed on the outside who can make plays and tackle, and Mitchell is their guy. At 6 feet tall, he has tremendous instincts to track the ball and utilize his speed and physicality to make a play on the ball.
Last season for the Nittany Lions, he played in just six games, securing five total tackles in three games. He will have four years of eligibility, making him a player who can help out not only this year's Cardinals team but also with the elite 2026 recruiting class coming to Louisville.
Brohm and the Cardinals desperately need a player like Mitchell. While he will be hard to get as his potential is high and he is just a freshman, Louisville must make him their No. 1 priority.
For all the latest on Louisville football's offseason, stay tuned.