Identifying Louisville's Biggest Post-Early Signing Period Roster Needs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The early signing period is now in the rear view mirror, and the Louisville football program took full advantage of it.

On the first day of the period, the Cardinals secured National Letters of Intent from 19 of their previously committed scholarship high school prospects. But even with all the moves that Louisville made this week, roster building never sleeps.

While the transfer portal doesn't officially open for another month, the Cardinals have seen one player announce their intention to enter it when it does open. There are also bound to be some NFL Draft declarations and additional transfer portal defections, especially after Louisville's to-be-determined bowl.

Given the current state of the roster, some spots need more attention that others. So which positions should they target the heaviest? Take a look below:

Potentially Multiple Starters on the Offensive Line

Of course, Louisville is going to have to address nearly every single position group on their roster given the amount of open scholarships they currently have. But few position groups have the changeover that their offensive line has.

Why? For starters, Louisville is in line to lose every one of their starting offensive lineman due to graduation. In fact, because of the portal-heavy approach on the O-line, eight players here have exhausted their eligibility.

That being said, from a numbers standpoint, the line is actually in a solid spot. Not to mention that guys like Jordan Church, Naeer Jackson, Cameron Gorin and Carter Guillaume are shaping up to potentially have their role increase in 2026.

But this was still a unit that underperformed this season, ranking 67th and 76th nationally in tackles for loss and sacks allowed per game, respectively. If a few guys in this position group opt to hit the portal, Louisville might have to land multiple transfer starters on the line.

A Couple Starting-Caliber Wide Receivers

Most Louisville fans and local media have had debates regarding if the Cardinals should dip back into the portal for a quarterback, or go with one of the current guys as their starter for next season. Regardless as to which path UofL goes, their eventual starter is likely going to need a deeper wide receiver room to throw to.

Not only is First-Team All-ACC receiver Chris Bell graduating, but so is Third-Team all-purpose receiver Caullin Lacy, as well as Dacari Collins, who established himself as the third starter by the end of the year. As a result, Louisville is returning only 363 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown from the wide receiver spot.

Guys like TreyShun Hurry, Kris Hughes and Antonio Meeks have shown great things in spurts, while their true freshmen - specifically Payton Cook and Gavin Waddell - could make waves in their first season in college. But in order to complement whomever will be the starting quarterback, Louisville likely needs at least two wide receivers who are starting-caliber guys.

Two-Deep Pieces in the Secondary

The secondary was expected to be a potential weak spot on Louisville's defense, and it wound up being a relative strength. Their 190.6 passing yards allowed per game ranked 28th in the FBS and led the ACC, while their 114.25 team passing efficiency defense mark was 23rd nationally and third in the conference.

If Louisville is to replicate this success on the back end in 2026, they'll have to do so without a few of their top defensive backs from this season. Their top corner in Jabari Mack is graduating, as is their starting safety duo in JoJo Evans and D'Angelo Hutchinson. Three more defensive backs are departing as well.

The Cardinals do return corner Tayon Holloway and safety Corey Gordon Jr., so there are couple guys to build around in the secondary. But the remaining cornerback room is filling with either youth or inexperience, and the safety room only has three scholarship guys on the roster for 2026. Louisville will undoubtedly have to bring in a couple impact defensive backs for next season - both at corner and the back end.

Potentially Multiple Starters on the Offensive Line

A Couple Starting-Caliber Wide Receivers

Two-Deep Pieces in the Secondary

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