Louisville Walk-On DE Mason Reiger Earns Scholarship

The Illinois native is the third walk-on to earn a full scholarship this preseason.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A third walk-on for the Louisville football program is seeing their hard work come to fruition.

According to the Cardinals' game notes for their upcoming game at Syracuse, sophomore defensive end Mason Reiger is getting put on scholarship ahead of the upcoming 2022 season.

He joins wide receiver Jaelin Carter and tight end Francis Sherman as walk-ons to earn a full scholarship for Louisville this preseason. According to the game notes, all three were informed during a team meeting on Aug. 23, putting the Cardinals at an 84-man scholarship roster.

The 6-foot-4, 254-pound lineman was a solid reserve on the defensive line last season for the Cardinals. He saw action in nine games during the 2021 season, and while he only tallied nine tackles, that also came with 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill. native was listed as the backup defensive end behind YaYa Diaby on Louisville's depth chart against Syracuse, and is part of a six-man rotation on the defensive line that program feels extremely confident in.

"Today, we've got six guys that we know for sure that we feel very comfortable - or at least I do, feel very comfortable going against anybody with," defensive line coach Mark Ivey said during fall camp.

Louisville will begin the 2022 season when they travel to upstate New York to face Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 3. 

(Photo of Phil Matah, Mason Reiger: Ken Ruinard - USA TODAY NETWORK)

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