Breaking Down Louisville's Five Most Underrated Portal Additions

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As most fans of the Louisville football program know, head coach Jeff Brohm and his staff had a very busy month of January navigating the transfer portal. The Cardinals have welcomed 32 newcomers to campus via the portal, with their class ranking No. 5 in the nation, per On3.

This high ranking is due to the fact that not only did Louisville limit the amount of high profile guys leaving, but most of their new additions are expected to have immediate impacts due to their high production and/or star power. That being said, Louisville brought in plenty of players who haven't been generating nearly as many headlines, but are still very crucial pickups for both immediate and long term success.

Below are the five most underrated portal pickups for Louisville from this transfer portal cycle:

RB Marquise Davis

Louisville heads into the 2026 season with one of the strongest running back rooms all of college football. Isaac Brown is one of the top players in the sport, and his backup in Keyjuan Brown would be a starter at a lot of power conference schools.

Barring injuries to those two, Davis won't be asked to do a ton this upcoming season. But what makes him such an underrated pickup is his long term potential. This past season at Missouri as a true freshman, while he played in only three games, he rushed for 200 yards and two touchdowns on 34 attempts. Not to mention he was ranked as the No. 162 recruit in the Class of 2025, according to the 247Sports Composite

Isaac Brown is very much a candidate to declare early for the 2027 NFL Draft, and Keyjuan Brown has just two years left in his collegiate career. Considering his talent level and early promise as a true freshman, Davis could be a tremendous asset in the backfield when it's time for him to become a starter.

OT Cason Henry

It was clear that Louisville put a big emphasis on offensive linemen in this portal cycle, bringing in five total. While Boston College's Eryz Daugherty and Delaware's Anwar O'Neal have been getting the most buzz, Henry has a chance to be the best transfer out of this bunch.

The main reason he's not getting any buzz is because of his shoulder injury that limited him to the first four games of the season at South Carolina. That being said, he was excellent in that span, allowing just one pressure and posting a Pro Football Focus grade of 87.0.

Sure, there is an injury concern with Henry considering that also plagued him in the first two years of his four year in Columbia. But he has SEC starting experience, and when healthy, he has shown to be a mauler.

WR Lawayne McCoy

Wide receiver was another spot that Louisville went hard after in the portal this offseason. The Cardinals wound up bringing five transfers here, including arguable their best transfer overall in Vanderbilt's Tre Richardson. While the latter will undoubtedly get the focus in the passing game from both transfer quarterback Lincoln Kienholz and opposing defenses, don't forget about McCoy's potential.

McCoy is coming off of a breakout sophomore season down at Florida State. Appearing in 10 games while starting seven, he hauled in 27 receptions for 396 yards and three touchdowns, with all three of these marks ranking first on the team behind First-Team All-ACC wideout Duce Robinson.

Not only does McCoy have starting experience in the ACC, he posted that stat line in an offense that wasn't super conducive to the passing game. If he can do that in a season where FSU QB Thomas Castellanos completed just 58.3 percent of his throws and had 15 touchdowns to nine interceptions, imagine what Brohm and Kienholz can help him accomplish.

CB Brycen Scott

With the amount of position turnover in the secondary, there are a quite a few new faces in this area of the field. Brohm and Louisville but an emphasis on bringing in guys with power conference pedigrees, such a Iowa's Koen Entringer, Texas' Santana Wilson and Kentucky's D.J. Waller.

The lone exception in the Cardinals' six defensive back transfers is Brycen Scott, who played his first two seasons in college at the FCS level at Elon. Like McCoy, Scott is also coming off of a breakout season, one where he registered 35 tackles (18 solo), seven pass breakups and half a sack in 10 games plus eight starts.

As far as the cornerback position goes, returner Tayon Holloway is the unquestioned CB1. As far as who could start next to him, while players making the FCS-to-FBS jump can be a gamble, Scott at least has consistent playing time - which is something no one else in the CB room can say.

DL Jerod Smith II

The D-line sports arguably Louisville's best defender in edge rusher Clev Lubin, not to mention that A.J. Green is returning as well. Additionally, North Carolina edge Tyler Thompson was a massive pickup on the line. But don't count out Smith making a sizable impact as well in 2026.

He was a productive rotational lineman for the Kentucky this past season. Playing in all 12 games as a reserve, Smith logged 27 tackles (18 solo), 5.0 tackles for loss (fourth-most on the team), a sack and a forced fumble. He also played in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2024, collecting seven tackles (four solo) plus an assisted tackle for loss.

What makes Smith such an underrated pickup is that, not only can he challenge Thompson and Green for a starting spot on the edge opposite of Lubin, he could find himself in the mix for an interior tackle spot. He played a lot of three-tech for the Wildcats, and considering the production lost in the middle of the line from 2025, he could find himself carving out a role there instead of on the edge.

RB Marquise Davis

OT Cason Henry

WR Lawayne McCoy

CB Brycen Scott

DL Jerod Smith II

More Cardinals Stories