Jeff Brohm and Vince Marrow strike again. Louisville football lands two more commitments from the Transfer Portal, as the Cardinals just learned that Jacob and Jerod Smith II are officially Louisville Cardinals. Louisville has now landed four commitments today, doubling its portal total to eight.
The Cardinals have now stolen three key players from Kentucky, as the two brothers were both 4-star high school recruits from Corbin, Kentucky. The Smith brothers will join DJ Waller at Louisville, as the defensive back was the first transfer to commit to Louisville this offseason.
Related: Who's coming and who's going: Louisville football 2026 Transfer Portal tracker
Louisville football adds two more Kentucky transfers
Entering the offseason, the Cardinals knew they had to address the defensive line. Louisville was losing key pieces in Rene Konga and Wes Bailey, and they thought they were losing AJ Green. However, a bombshell was dropped this afternoon Green withdrew his name from the portal, and now Louisville just added two more former 4-star recruits.
Kentucky d-lineman Jerod Smith (@Jerodsmith44) is transferring to Louisville, his rep @cjrecruiting2 tells @CBSSports.
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 7, 2026
Smith posted 27 tackles, 5 TFLs and a sack this year. Was a top 100 recruit in the 2024 class. https://t.co/B61FxrUn0u pic.twitter.com/YevZSigxtf
The star of the two brothers is Jerod. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound defensive linemen produced two solid seasons with Kentucky, including his 2025 campaign, where he had a career season. In his sophomore season, Jerod showed why he was a former top-100 recruit in the 2024 recruiting class, logging 27 tackles, five tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and a sack.
As for Jacob, he was able to redshirt his freshman season and logged a total of 42 snaps in his first two seasons. They both are former Kentucky high school stars, as both were ranked inside ESPN’s top 100. Jerod was once again the star of the two, ranking No. 89 in the nation and the ninth-best edge rusher. As for Jacob, he was ranked No. 97 in the 2024 recruiting class and the 18th best edge rusher.
The two Smith brothers commit to Louisville as top-350 transfer players, as Jerod ranks No. 326 in the portal and No. 25 among defensive linemen, and Jacob ranks No. 327 in the portal and the 41st-best edge rusher. Marrow and Brohm got much-needed help on the defensive line today, and the group is looking to be just as dominant as last year.
Louisville earned 31.5 sacks a year ago, and with the addition of key pieces in the two Smith brothers, as well as the return of Green and Clev Lubin, this group is trending toward another dominant season.
Related: 5 Kentucky transfers that could follow DJ Waller to Jeff Brohm and Louisville football
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