Jeff Brohm Impressed by Lincoln Kienholz's First Month on Louisville's Campus

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In each of Jeff Brohm's first three years as the head coach of the Louisville football program, he has opted to go the transfer portal route for his starting quarterback.

Ahead of his first season in 2023, he reunited with Jack Plummer, pulling him from Cal after he started his career at Purdue with Brohm. For the 2024 campaign, he brought in Oregon/Texas Tech transfer Tyler Shough, who was molded into a second round draft pick by the New Orleans Saints. This past season, USC's Miller Moss took over under center for the Cardinals.

In advance of year four at the helm, Brohm is once again opting to grab his starting quarterback from out of the portal. As part of Louisville's fifth-ranked transfer portal class in this cycle is Lincoln Kienholz, who comes to the Derby City after spending the first three years of his collegiate career with Ohio State.

While Kienholz has been on campus for roughly just a month, Brohm has already been impressed with what he has seen out of his new starting quarterback as a leader. Not to mention he is high on his on-field capabilities as well.

"He's done a great job through a month of leading our team," Brohm said of Kienholz. "When I say he's a good athlete and can run, it shows up. When we're doing conditioning drills, he's in the front. That's with everybody.

"He wants to run the ball as well. You got to make sure you get your quarterback through the season healthy, and then he can play the entire season. But that is going to be a strength of his: his ability to run escape, maybe a few more design runs as well, where we're making sure we're utilizing his legs. I think his ability to extend the play is going to be there. I think he has a good arm."

When watching film on Kienholz during his time with the Buckeyes, a couple things stand out. For starters, the 6-foot-2, 214-pound signal caller does have a lively arm - one that potentially could go toe-to-toe with Shough in terms of overall arm strength.

Kienholz's athleticism isn't limited to just his arm. He's also incredibly gifted as a runner, showing a willingness to run and an ability to do it at a high level - whether that's on designed plays, scrambles, or using his legs to extend a play. He is especially gifted as a runner in between the tackles, as Kienholz is not afraid to not only take contact, but initiate it at well.

While Brohm certainly wants to make sure Kienholz is healthy for the entire season, he also wants to take advantage of what his quarterback can do as a runner.

"I definitely feel like Lincoln brings us a dimension we have not had here before," Brohm said. "He's a very good athlete. He shows that every day, even now to this point. He can throw the football as well. He's had to sit back, and watch and learn, which is not a lot of fun as a backup quarterback. He knows his time is now, and we're going to work very hard every day to help him play his best football as we get going into the season."

As Brohm mentioned, the one partial unknown with Kienholz is how he will perform now that he is a starter. In all three of his seasons at OSU, he served as a backup.

He saw action in seven games this past season going 11-of-14 through the air for 139 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 66 yards and two scores on 11 attempts. He did not log any stats during Ohio State's 2024 national championship season, and went 10-of-22 for 111 yards in three games as a true freshman in 2023.

However, Kienholz not earning the starting nod shouldn't be an indictment of his play. In 2023 while he was a true freshman, the Buckeyes had Kyle McCord as their starter. The next season, it was Will Howard, who played a massive role in their 2024 title run.

In the summer and preseason leading up to the 2025 campaign, Kienholz was involved in a highly competitive battle for the starting gig, but ultimately lost out to eventual Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin. Sayin is running back in Columbus for 2026, which is what prompted Kienholz to transfer.

Sure, Kienholz doesn't have the extensive starting experience that Plummer, Shough and Moss all had when they transferred to Louisville. But Brohm doesn't view this as some massive detriment, and is fully confident in his starting quarterback as they begin the long offseason of preparation.

"I think in just improving his ability to process, make good decisions, be able to throw like an NFL quarterback is what we're going to work hard at," Brohm said. "I think he's made good strides at this point. He's a willing learner.

"Does he have the experience and played on the field as much? No, he does not have that. But he's been in a great program. He's learned under great coaches and a great team. He's been around a winning team and how that works, and I think he will do a really good job."

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