Louisville, Brohm Satisfied with Early Offseason Player Acquisitions
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the current climate of collegiate athletics, roster management has become one of the most important tasks facing a program. Between the one-time transfer rule and name, image and likeness, recruiting your own roster is just as important as recruiting new players, otherwise a mass exodus could be in order.
But when you take into account a coaching change, like one that the Louisville football program is going through, it's hard to avoid losing your fair share of depth pieces and impact playmakers. In fact, as of this writing, the Cardinals have seen 33 scholarship players depart the program in one form or another, whether that be graduation, the NFL Draft or the transfer portal.
Related: Who's In, Who's Out and Who's Back for Louisville Football in 2023
It goes without saying that Jeff Brohm, a Louisville alum who became the head coach of the Cardinals after Scott Satterfield left for Cincinnati in December, had his work cut out for him. Fortunately, Brohm and the rest of his staff have been incredibly active in retaining key members of their 2023 recruiting class, bringing in new high school prospects and combing the transfer portal for high impact playmakers.
So far, Louisville is currently in line to have 27 newcomers on their roster, and Brohm is happy with the level of talent in that incoming pool of players.
"I think we've had success, and been very successful at all the positions (in terms of recruiting)," Brohm said during a press conference for the traditional signing day. "There's some really good football players that are already on this team that have done a great job. As we try to analyze and see where we need to add some people that can help us, I think we've addressed that to a great degree, and feel good about the ones that are here. We really think we've added some dynamic players at certain positions."
Out of those 27 newcomers, 12 of them are Division I transfers, and a few of them are expected to have significant roles of Louisville's team in 2023. Jack Plummer is the odds-on favorite to win the starting quarterback job, wide receiver Jamari Thrash is likely going to be to go-to pass catcher in 2023, and defensive end Stephen Herron is the top candidate to replace YaYa Diaby on the edge.
There are plenty of others who Louisville plans to utilize heavily, and for good reason. 247Sports currently has the Cardinals' transfer portal haul as the 29th-best transfer class in the nation. Headlined by players like edge rusher Adonijah Green, cornerback Aaron Williams, quarterback Pierce Clarkson and offensive lineman Madden Sanker, even their crop of incoming freshman features potential year-one contributors, and it ranks as the No. 31 2023 class.
That being said, Louisville isn't done yet. The Cardinals still have seven open scholarship spots for next season's roster, and with another transfer portal window coming after spring ball from May 1st through the 15th, that number is liable to increase.
But even before it gets to that point, Brohm already has an idea of what positions he wants to target next out of the transfer portal.
"Always on the offensive and defensive line," he said. "You're keeping your eyes and ears open just to make sure you have enough physical bodies there to be able to compete at a high level. ... we want to continue to recruit the linebacker position, make sure we have enough guys here to compete in the secondary. I feel good where we're at, but we have some injuries that we're getting shored up, ... tight end is a unique position, so we're always looking to see if there's a veteran that can come in and add to the mix."
The spring transfer window will open up roughly a week and a half after Louisville is set to host their annual spring game. It will take place on Friday, Apr. 21 at 7:00 p.m. EST, and will be streaming on ACC Network Extra.
(Photo of Jeff Brohm: Matt Stone - The Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report
You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter
