Louisville football fans learned on New Year's Day that their star running back for the past two seasons will enter the Transfer Portal. Isaac Brown has been one of the best running backs in college football, averaging 7.7 yards per carry with the Cards in just two seasons, and has put his name in multiple record books.
Brown entered the 2025 season as a Preseason All-American, but the star tailback for the Cardinals missed five games his sophomore season. Brown still had a dominant season despite missing those five games, earning 101 carries and 884 yards, averaging an impressive 8.8 yards per carry. Louisville fans expected the star running back to enter the portal, but to see the nightmare come true is still a huge blow to the Cardinals.
Brown is going to be hard to replace, and Louisville fans know that as they went 7-1 in the games he played this season and 2-3 in the games he missed. However, the fans have one player they hope will replace Brown, and it is now undeniable who that player is.
Related: Predicting which Louisville football players leave or stay with the Cardinals
Louisville football must find a way to keep Keyjuan Brown
With Brown, Duke Watson, and Shaun Boykins Jr. all entering the portal, that leaves one key player who is still a Louisville Cardinal. Keyjuan Brown is immediatley the top guy Brohm has to find a way to keep. Louisville has already lost three of its four top running backs to the portal, two quarterbacks, and three wide receivers. So, with the offense taking a hit this winter, Brohm is eyeing to make some big splashes. However, one player he has to find a way to match is Keyjuan.
The star running back had a breakout year once Watson and Isaac went down, and he showed he can be the No. 1 guy. He earned the second-most carries and the second-most rushing yards on the team, only trailing Isaac. Keyjuan made a massive leap in his sophomore year and took full advantage of the opportunities that were presented to him.
Keyjuan made a jump from earning 47 carries and 243 rushing yards to his impressive sophomore season, where he earned 96 carries and 704 rushing yards, which had him averaging 7.3 yards per carry. He added six rushing touchdowns along with 12 catches for 118 receiving yards, which was the most out of any running back on the team.
Isaac has breakaway speed and could take over at any point. He ran for over 100 yards in 11 games during his tenure at Louisville, including his dominant 205 rushing yards on just 14 carries against Boston College. But in Keyjuan's sophomore season, Louisville fans saw a spark that they saw in Isaac last year. Keyjuan earned at least 10 carries in six games this season, and in those six games, he earned 84 yards or more in every game and averaged at least 7.0 yards per carry in every game.
Keyjuan was the No. 1 running back against Cal and Clemson, and he logged 134 rushing yards and 135 rushing yards in those two games. Isaac is going to be missed, and he isn’t going to be easy to replace, but Keyjuan has the skill, speed, and ability to dominate next season, but it comes down to Louisville keeping him and not losing him to the portal as well.
For all the latest recruiting news and updates for Louisville football, stay tuned.