4 days Ago
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As quickly as it began, spring practice for the Louisville football program is now in the rear view mirror. The Cardinals capped off their set of 15 spring practices with their annual spring game this past Friday, the third under head coach Jeff Brohm.
The program has a few weeks off before reconvening for summer conditioning, but in the interim, Brohm and the rest of his coaching staff has a more immediate task on their hands: filling out the remaining roster spots through the transfer portal. Louisville has done a good job at replacing departing talent via both the portal and high school ranks, but there is still work to be done. As of this writing, the Cardinals sport a roster with 77 scholarship players, which is six spots under of the traditional 85-man scholarship limit.
Related: Who’s In, Who’s Out and Who’s Back for Louisville Football in 2025 There's also a chance that more players could enter the portal. The 10-day spring transfer portal window opens today, Wednesday, Apr. 16, and doesn't close until Apr.
25. Heading into this week, Brohm and his staff will have individual player meetings, and the prospect of entering the portal could come up. So what type of players should Louisville look for in the portal? Here are their three biggest team needs following spring ball and heading into the summer months: Defensive Back Heading into spring ball, no area of the field for Louisville had quite as many question marks as the secondary did.
Six of the seven scholarship cornerbacks on the 2024 roster either graduated or hit the portal, while their starting safety duo graduated. That left the Cardinals with four returners, meaning they had to hit the portal hard in the winter window. To be fair, a handful of defensive backs actually had really good springs.
Cornerback Rodney Johnson Jr. had a phenomenal spring ball and is an unquestioned starter at this point, safeties JoJo Evans and D'Angelo Hutchinson were good on the back end, and others on the roster flashed in spurts. That being said, this is an area that is sorely lacking in proven depth at the power conference level.
As of this writing, the only players who have played meaningful minutes at this level of competition are Hutchinson and Baylor transfer Corey Gordon. Every one else is either a Group of Five/FCS/D2 transfer, a returner who hasn't played much up to this point, or a true freshman. That's not to say that these players aren't capable of making the jump.
Like I said, Johnson and Evans were the two best DBs in the spring, and they transferred in from Southern and FIU. However, at some point, Louisville will likely need some additional experience. Especially if they are to bounce back from a season in which the secondary was their achilles heel.
Wide Receiver Let me preface this by saying that Louisville already has one of the best one-two punches at wide receiver not only in the ACC, but in college football. Chris Bell is coming off of a career year where he caught 43 passes for 737 yards and four touchdowns as WR2, and only continues to get better. Caullin Lacy is fully healthy following his injured-blemished 2024 campaign that resulted in him opting out and taking a redshirt, and has looked like his 2023 South Alabama form in spring ball.
But after that, there is a significant drop off in experience and production in the wide receiver room. Antonio Meeks has made significant strides this offseason and is the clear third starting wide receiver at this point, but time will tell how he fares on a consistent basis in the ACC. Akron transfer Bobby Golden and Minnesota transfer T.
J. McWilliams flashed in spurts this spring, as did former walk-on Kris Hughes, but they're likely going to be depth pieces. The wide receiver spot isn't one where they likely need multiple additional player, like in the secondary.
But what Louisville *does* need here is a proven and experienced player to slide into the third starting spot. Tight End While Louisville's one-two punch at tight end won't grab the headlines that their wide receiver duo will, it could be just as crucial. Nate Kurisky has been an under-the-radar player for the Cardinals in his time at UofL, and after logging 12 catches for 112 yards and three touchdowns as the backup, he could be in line for a fantastic senior year.
Jaleel Skinner didn't see much run at all last season and even entered the portal at one point, but looked much better this spring in terms of his consistency. So what's the issue with the tight end spot? Well, the amount of healthy bodies. Grant Houser won't play his true freshman season due to a knee injury, redshirt freshman Dylan Mesman missed the back half of spring ball, as did walk-on Hamilton Atkins - who had made head-turning progress in the spring.
The Cardinals will have to add at least one more tight end, maybe even multiple, simply because there is almost no available depth right now. (Photo of Duke Watson: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram: Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI Instagram - @louisvilleonsi You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X and @mattmcgavic.bsky.
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