Louisville football is set to take on Ole Miss Sept. 5 from Nashville in a highly anticipated Week 1 matchup. The Cardinals and the Rebels not only come in ranked in ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25, but that matchup would be a top-15 matchup according to those rankings as of now. Louisville is ranked No. 14, as Ole Miss is ranked No. 9.
The Cardinals had a monster offseason, adding 30 players from the portal and 20 players from the 2026 recruiting class. Jeff Brohm had to rebuild many positions on the offense and defense, but appears to have set his team up for a breakthrough season.
Week 1 isn’t for another 32 weeks, so some names be moved around from now until then, but here is a way-too-early 2026 defensive depth chart projection for Louisville football.
Related: Louisville football's way-too-early 2026 offensive depth chart projection
Defensive Line:
Starters: Clev Lubin, A.J. Green, Demeco Kennedy, Joshua Donald
Backups: Jerod Smith II, Tyler Thompson, Micah Carter, Tommy Ziesmer, Daylen Russell
DL Depth: Eric Hazzard, Jon Adams, Jacob Smith, Sam Dawson, Selah Brown, Bailey Abercrombie, Dillon Smith
The Cardinals loaded up on the outside, but they have questions on the interior entering the 2026 season. Louisville not only got key edge players back in AJ Green and Clev Lubin, but they also added edge rushers Tyler Thompson and Jerod Smith II. Louisville has tons of talent and depth at the edge rusher position, but on the interior, they lost their two starters in Jordan Guerad and Rene Konga to graduation, and then their two backups, Jerry Lawson and Denzel Lowry, as well.
So, with Louisville needing depth on the defensive line, the Cardinals added Demeco Kennedy, Tommy Ziesmer, Joshua Donald, and Daylen Russell from the Transfer Portal. Kennedy and Donald feel like they have the slight edge to start as of today, while Ziesmer and Russell provide depth. Donald gets the nod to start in our way-too-early projection as he is a legitimate nose tackle and recorded 32 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 forced fumble at Appalachian State. As for Kennedy, he ranks the highest out of everyone on this list at No. 805 overall and No. 78 among defensive linemen in the portal. Last season, he logged 21 tackles and two sacks.
Linebackers:
Starters: Stanquan Clark, Antonio Watts
Backups: TJ Capers, Benjamin Perry
Depth: Trent Carter, Caleb Matelau, Cameron White, Brady Ballart, Taj Powell
Louisville’s linebacker room is one of its strongest units on defense, as not only do they return key players in Stanquan Clark, Antonio Watts, and TJ Capers, but they also added depth with a familiar face in Benjamin Perry from the Transfer Portal. Brohm avoided a disastrous situation in which Watts entered the portal, as he convinced the elite linebacker to withdraw his name and kept key leader Clark.
Clark was second in tackles in 2024, while Watts was sixth, and last season, Capers and Watts combined for 88 tackles. Perry returns to Louisville after he played for UCLA last season. During his first four seasons with the Cardinals, he earned 132 tackles, eight pass deflections, two sacks, and one forced fumble.
Cornerbacks:
Starters: Tayon Holloway, D.J. Waller
Backups: Brycen Scott, Santana Wilson
Depth: Jaydin Broadnax, Kris Brunson, Antonio Harris
Louisville’s cornerback room has some questions entering the 2026 season, as they get just one key returner back from last season, Tayon Holloway. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound cornerback returns after being a starter last season and posting 28 tackles, five pass breakups, two interceptions, and one sack. We are predicting Kentucky transfer, DJ Waller, to start alongside him next season as of Jan. 24, but Texas transfer and former 4-star Santana Wilson and Elon transfer Brycen Scott are names to keep an eye on.
Scott, who transferred to Louisville, was ranked the highest of their three cornerback portal additions, but Waller has Power Four football experience and was a former starter at Kentucky before his injury. Scott ranks No. 70 among cornerbacks, while Waller ranks No. 73 and Wilson ranks No. 122 among cornerbacks in the Transfer Portal.
Safeties:
Starters: Koen Entringer, Travaris Banks, Blake Ruffin
Backup: Kaleb Beasley, Micah Rice
Depth: Jordan Vann
One of Louisville's biggest additions this offseason will be in their safety room as Iowa transfer Koen Entringer is expected to make an immediate impact on this Louisville defense. Entringer commits to Louisville, ranked No. 158 overall and No. 11 among safeties in the Transfer Portal after he collected 73 tackles, four pass breakups, and one forced fumble last season.
Also joining Entringer in the Cards safety room from the Transfer Portal are TJ Banks from Ole Miss and Kaleb Beasley from Tennessee. Banks brings valuable experience to the group, as he ranks No. 419 overall in the portal and No. 35 among safeties after he logged 20 total tackles, 1.0 tackles for a loss, and one pass breakup last season. As for Beasley, he is a former 4-star recruit out of high school and was a key rotational player this past season for Tennessee, earning 24 tackles, one pass breakup, and one fumble recovery.