Louisville Football's Biggest Remaining Transfer Portal Needs

These are the four positions that the Cardinals need to add through the transfer portal in advance of the 2025 season.

Louisville football mascot Louie / Jared Anderson - Louisville Report

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Like every other college football program at the Division I level, Louisville has certainly been impacted by the transfer portal this offseason.

Over a week into the month of January, the Cardinals have had 19 scholarship players enter the portal since the end of the 2024 regular season, ranging from potential starters to strictly role players.

Related: Louisville Football 2024-25 Transfer Tracker

While, in theory, there could still be more players that decide to depart the program, Louisville is starting to have some semblance as to who they will actually have returning for the 2025 season. Their winter transfer portal window closed on Jan. 5, and the soft deadline to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft was this past Monday.

On the other side of that coin, head coach Jeff Brohm and his coaching staff has done an amazing job at bringing in talent via the portal. So far, 19 transfers have committed to Louisville, and many of them have the potential to be high-impact playmakers from day one.

As of Jan. 8, the Cardinals are currently at a 78-man scholarship roster - seven below the traditional 85-man limit. Although, as part of the House vs. NCAA settlement, the scholarship limit in football has been lifted to 105.

As you can imagine, roster movement both in and out ahead of the 2025 season is far from over. There will be another window from April 16 to April 30 following spring practices in which players can enter the transfer portal without penalty, on top of the plethora of uncommitted players still in the portal.

Related: Who's In, Who's Out and Who's Back for Louisville Football in 2025

The staff is certainly still recruiting out of the high school ranks, but most of Louisville's future additions for the 2025 roster are very likely going to be D1 transfers.

What type of players should Louisville look for in the portal? Here are their three biggest current roster needs:

Cornerback

This is Louisville's biggest remaining need on the roster, and it's not particularly close.

For starters, four of the five top corners on the roster are moving on. Quincy Riley, Corey Thornton and Tahveon Nicholson are all out of eligibility, while Aaron Williams transferred to UCLA. As for the future of the fifth one, Tayon Holloway, his future at Louisville is very much up in the air given his yet-to-be resolved assault case.

Just two corners are guaranteed to return, Rae'mon Mosby and Jathan Hatch, but both are heading into their redshirt freshmen seasons. Add in incoming freshman Antonio Harris, there are just three corners on the roster with significant collegiate playing time - and even they have questions to an extent.

While Justin Agu (Louisiana), Rodney Johnson Jr. (Southern) and Jabari Mack (Jacksonville State) have been productive in their careers up to this point, all three will be having to make the jump from either the Group of Five or FCS to the ACC. At the very minimum, Louisville needs to add at least two more impact corners to feel good at this spot.

Wide Receiver

There's a little bit of a caveat here, as Louisville heads into 2025 with one of the best wide receiver tandems in the ACC.

Caullin Lacy re-reminded us all of the impact he can make with his excellent performance in the Sun Bowl, and Chris Bell was able to take a massive step forward in his development this season. Barring injury, it wouldn't come as a shock to see either player log a 1,000-yard season in 2025.

But beyond those two, there are a lot of question marks as to who could not only step up and be that third starter, but carve out a role in the rotation, period.

Antonio Meeks was able to catch a touchdown pass in the Sun Bowl, but otherwise he had a very quiet 2024. Shaun Boykins Jr., JoJo Stone and Minnesota transfer T.J. McWilliams played a combined 16 offensive snaps in 2024, while Brock Coffman and Kamare Williams are incoming true freshmen. There's always the possibility of walk-on Kris Hughes stepping up, but Louisville needs another proven starting-caliber receiver, and maybe even a role player type on top of that as well.

Running Back

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Yes, Isaac Brown is a bone-fide superstar in the making after rushing for well over 1,000 yards as a true freshman. Yes, Duke Watson is arguably more explosive than Brown after leading the FBS in yards per carry. Behind that offensive line, which should be the strongest unit on the roster next season, running that ball should be a massive strength of Louisville's in 2025.

But... those two can only do so much. As of this writing, they are the only two returning scholarship running backs for Louisville. The Cardinals did pick up Jamarice Wilder out of the high school ranks, but expecting him to be RB3 in a system that loves to shuffle running backs in and out might be a lot to ask of him.

Even if Wilder explodes in spring ball and fall camp, Louisville still needs at least one more, perhaps two, running backs on the roster for depth purposes. Let the 2022 season, where Jawhar Jordan and Maurice Turner started the season as the No. 4 and 5 guys on the RB depth chart only to be the starter and backup in the Fenway Bowl, serve as a reminder that you always need bodies.

Tight End

While we're still waiting on someone at tight end to take over as the commanding TE1 like we have seen at Western Kentucky and Purdue under Jeff Brohm, the room did take a step forward in 2024. That being said, it's also losing a lot of production and potential.

Mark Redman, who was Louisville's third leading receiver, is out of eligibility. Jamari Johnson, who had one of the highest ceilings on the team, opted to transfer to Oregon. Tight end/fullback Duane Martin has graduated, as has Izayah Cummings.

Nate Kurisky has shown in flashes this season and towards the end of the 2023 season of his potential, but he'll need to take a big step forward for 2025. Jaleel Skinner has a high ceiling, but just needs to work on his consistency. Then there's redshirt freshman Dylan Mesman and true freshman Grant Houser.

From a depth perspective alone, Louisville needs to add more to the tight end room. Add in the context of potential vs. production, it wouldn't hurt to add a proven guy at the position, either.

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI)

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