Former Louisville Center Bryan Hudson Serving as a Mentor in Football and Life

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Over the last half-decade the Louisville football program has been blessed with good offensive line play, and have produced multiple high-level linemen in the process.

Mekhi Becton became the fourth-highest NFL Draft selection in program history when he went No. 11 overall to the New York Jets in the 2020, and recently won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. Caleb Chandler was a two-time All-ACC selection, including a First-Team PFF All-American in 2021. During the last two years under head coach Jeff Brohm, Michael Gonzalez, Eric Miller, Monroe Mills, Pete Nygra and Willie Tyler have all generated All-ACC honors.

Louisville have seen their fair share of standout offensive lineman in recent seasons. But one of the top linemen produced during this time was Bryan Hudson.

The Georgetown, Ky. native might have gotten his career started at Virginia Tech, but after two years as a Hokie, he decided to come home and spent his final three seasons as a Cardinals. He played multiple spots on the line in 2021 for his first season with UofL, then was elevated to starting center for 2022.

When Brohm took over following then-head coach Scott Satterfield's departure, Hudson opted to stay with the Cardinals for his final season in college, and it paid massive dividends. Starting all 14 games despite dealing with a knee injury a bulk of the season, he gave up just 14 total pressures across 490 pass block snaps and 927 blocking snaps overall, and didn't allow a sack until the Holiday Bowl vs. USC.

Not only was Hudson named First-Team All-ACC for this spectacular season, but he was named the recipient of the 2023 Jacobs Blocking Trophy, which is given to the most outstanding blocker in the ACC, as voted on by the league’s head coaches and defensive coordinators.

The impact that Hudson had on the football field for the Cardinals is clear as day. But even since he graduated and started his career in the National Football League, his impact has still been felt in the building.

Not long after the end of the 2024 NFL season, he made his way back to Louisville, taking advantage of the welcoming atmosphere for alumni that is fostered by Brohm and his staff. From late January until mid-April, when spring ball ended for the Cardinals, he spent time working out and training at UofL.

"It's been fun to be around them whenever we have a break, and I'm back in Louisville," Hudson told Louisville Cardinals On SI in a recent sit-down. "Coach (Domenic) Reno and coach (Richard) Owens, Coach (Jeff) Brohm, they're all awesome about letting the alumni spend some time there to train, and also be around the guys."

During this time, not only was he making an effort to better himself physically, he served as a mentor for Louisville's offensive line during spring ball. Hudson was a regular observer on the sidelines during spring practices, and took every chance he had to impart his wisdom onto the Cardinals' current crop of linemen.

"It's been great having those conversations," he said. "They ask a lot of questions, and I'm just thankful again that I'm able to give them a little bit of insight on what my experiences are, what some stuff that I've learned from just my experience as a whole in the NFL. Whether it's just the difference between NFL and college, or just little technique stuff that I picked up or learned, and just talking about some of the fundamentals, and talking about defenses, or just talking about ball in general. That's kind of how the conversations go: bouncing ideas off of each other.

"I would definitely say I get just as much, if not more, out of those conversations than they do. So it's been good there. They're awesome about getting extra work with me after workouts, and going in the film room with me to watch their tape, some indie work, and all kinds of stuff that just get us all better. It's been a really good experience when I come back here."

One of the primary beneficiaries of Hudson's mentorship is the guy who took over as the starting center following his departure in Pete Nygra. He transferred from Northern Illinois to Louisville last offseason, and even while Hudson was busy preparing for the start of his professional career, he made time for Nygra in an effort to help him get acclimated to the ACC.

"I got really close with Bryan, actually, since being in the winter when he's been back here for his NFL training," Nygra told Louisville Cardinals On SI last August said. "I've worked with him, watched film with him, just kind of learned from him being the guy last year, and obviously being a great center and player for Louisville. I tried to learn as much from him as I could, and he's been great in helping me do that."

Nygra then went on to have a very successful first season at Louisville. Starting all 13 games, he gave up just one sack and 16 total pressures in 475 pass block snaps and 848 snaps overall. He earned an All-ACC honorable mention, and has a great chance to be named to the 2025 Preseason All-ACC Team when it is announced later this month.

As Nygra heads into year two at Louisville and his final collegiate season, Hudson continues to foster his relationship with the man in the middle for the Cardinals.

"That relationship has grown a lot," he said. "We spent a lot of time together when we're here in the building. It's been cool to watch him grow as a leader on the offensive line and in this room, and just see him kind of take those reins a little bit more and more each time that I've been back. That's really fun to see.

"We bounce ideas off of each other in that regard as well. Just saying how we did it, and what I've learned from the good leaders that I've been around, both in the NFL and all those different teams. In that regard, it's been really cool, and that relationship has definitely grown a lot from just spending more time together each time that I've been back. Having that familiarity is big."

Not only has Hudson served as a mentor for his old position group on the football field, but he has also helped to lead by example away from the gridiron as well.

During his rookie season in the NFL, Hudson partnered with the National Marrow Donor Program for the NFL's annual My Cause, My Cleats campaign. NMDP is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to "establishing, maintaining, and improving a system that provides transplants of bone marrow and other hematopoietic cells." Since 1988, they have maintained a registry of nearly 3 million volunteer marrow donors.

Hudson chose NMDP because his uncle has been battling an extremely rare and aggressive form of Lymphoma, in which required a blood transplant. Even in the midst of this battle, he came to a few UofL games when Hudson was still at Louisville.

This partnership between Hudson and NMDP has turned into a long term partnership, and when he was in Louisville this past spring, he held an on-campus event in March - one day before his Pro Day - to encourage students to sign up and volunteer for the registry. Nygra, fellow offensive lineman and current Atlanta Falcons guard Michael Gonzalez, quarterback Miller Moss, tight end Nate Kurisky and backup center Michael Flores were among the current Cards that assisted Hudson, and by the event's end, 101 people had signed up.

Hudson's desire to be a mentor, both in football and in life, started at a very early age. Even when he was participating in Little League as a kid or grappling with where he should go to college as a four-start prospect at Scott County High School, he always wanted to pour into others what he had poured into him.

"That's always been something that has been important to me," he said. "I know I was very blessed from, as far as I can remember that, just to have other people to really pour into me. Not only my parents and other family members, but friends and teammates. Just seeing the value in bringing other people along, bringing teammates along, your friends, classmates, whatever the case is. Just seeing that, and how much of an impact and help that it's been for me growing up in every stage, having so many people around me help me get to where I am, and where I've been, that's just kind of why I've always been that way. That's what's been instilled in me, and just the values of taking care of other things and other people before yourself. That's just kind of what's bled into everything that I've done.

"Not only just helping teammates around me, but helping coach other kids on the throwing team in high school, to mentoring people and younger kids, then when I got into college, coaching high school kids, or going back to my hometown in Georgetown and helping out there. It's been awesome. Now that I've made it this level, just being able to go back at to U of L, and help out the football team a little bit, help out some of the linemen that come around and want to get some extra work, or ask me questions and things like that."

Hudson also wanted to give back to the Louisville community because of how much UofL had prepared him for the NFL - and not just from a pure football standpoint.

On top of being the best offensive lineman in the ACC, and one of the best in college football as a whole, Hudson was also a standout track & field athlete. During his final season at Louisville in 2023, he earned Second-Team All-ACC honors in the Indoor Shot Put, Second-Team All-ACC honors in the Outdoor Discus and Shot Put, with the latter also earning him a USTFCCCA Outdoor All-America Honorable Mention.

Not only did participating in multiple sports at a high level help him to become a better athlete, it also prepared him in terms of how to manage a packed schedule. For instance, a normal spring day for him would involve: a 7:00 a.m. football life, then breakfast and class, he would practice throws for T&F at noon, then go back to football for spring meetings around 2:30 p.m. and have practice afterwards.

"It helped out tremendously," Hudson said regarding his participation in track & field. "All throughout my recruitment, and all the really notable coaches that I've talked to, recruited me or just had conversations with, have pointed to my track and field background as a huge contributor. Just footwork and body control, awareness, explosiveness, flexibility, all those things we could go on and on about how much it's helped in that area. Not only that, but just in college, being able to do both. It helped me learn how to balance very packed schedule, primarily in the spring and in the summer. It helped me learn how to really take care of my body."

This preparation for a chaotic schedule certainly helped Hudson in his rookie season in the NFL. After going unselected in the 2025 NFL Draft, he inked an undrafted free agent deal with the Detroit Lions. He was waived by the Lions in late August, and then upon clearing waivers, the New England Patriots signed him to their practice squad. He was even elevated to the 53-man roster for the Patriots' Week 5 matchup vs. the Miami Dolphins, although he did not play.

Hudson was later released by the Patriots in early November, then was signed by the New York Giants to their practice squad after clearing waivers. He spent the rest of the season in the Big Apple, and inked a reserve/future contract in January. He's set to report to training camp for the Giants on July 22.

Oh, and in the midst of these moves to three different teams last season, his wife, Reilly, was pregnant with their son Asher. She gave birth during the final week of the regular season this past January.

"Chaotic" would be one way to describe his first season in the NFL. But if you ask Hudson, he's simply thankful to have the opportunity, and is eager to compete for a spot on New York's 53-man roster this fall.

"I wouldn't change any of it," he said, "It's definitely not the ideal path, or what a year and a half ago when I thought about what the first year or two could look like. It's not what I would have maybe guessed it would be. But it's been a really good experience. Both me and my wife, and now son, have learned a lot. We've been through a lot together already in this first year and a half. There's a lot of the things off the field that a lot of people don't think about, whether it's moving two or three different times- my wife was with a few different providers through her pregnancy, and moving to different states late in the pregnancy. Off the field, there was some things we kind of had to figure out along the way. It's wasn't easy, but it's what God had in the cards for us. It's definitely happened for a reason. We're starting to see that now.

"Then on the field, I've gained a lot of really good experience having to learn three different offenses now, and be in three different systems. I've learned from a lot of really good coaches, and learning from really good coaches right now with the with the New York Giants. I'm also around a lot of really good veteran players, and both in the O-line room and just on the team level. It's helped me gain a lot of really good experience just learning from those guys, and learning from people's mistakes, my mistakes, just dealing with the ups and downs of an organization, and a team and going through camps. It's been a little bit of a chaotic ride, but I'm just thankful for it."

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