Louisville DE Clev Lubin Returning for 2026 Season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While the Louisville football program is still waiting on their first commitment out of the transfer portal, they have just secured a massive recruiting win on the first day of the portal window.

Star defensive end Clev Lubin, one of the best edge rushers in the ACC and all of college football, announced Friday on social media that he will be coming back to the Cardinals for the 2026 season.

"#L1C4...run it back❤️," he said in a post to Twitter/X.

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound edge rusher joined Louisville last offseason as a transfer from Coastal Carolina, and put together a fantastic first season as a Cardinal. Starting all 13 games, he collected 61 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and five pass breakups. He earned Third-Team All-ACC honors for his efforts.

His 64 total quarterback pressures generated this past season, according to Pro Football Focus, were the most generated by a Louisville player in the PFF era (since 2014). It's also the fifth-most in all of the FBS and third-most in the Power Four, behind only Texas Tech's David Bailey (82) and Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. (74).

In 2024 with the Chanticleers, Lubin's 12.0 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks not only led the team, but were fourth and third, respectively, in the Sun Belt. He also collected 44 total tackles (24 solo), three pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, collecting First-Team All-Sun Belt honors.

The Suffern, N.Y. native actually started his career at Army, redshirting his true freshman campaign in 2022 before transferring to Iowa Western (JUCO) for the 2023 season. There, Lubin earned First-Team NJCAA All-American honors after tallying 23.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and four forced fumbles - all of which led the team - en route to the NJCAA D1 National Championship.

The 14-day portal window officially opened at midnight, and it is the only opportunity for players to enter following the removal of the spring transfer window. Louisville has seen 19 players declare their intent to enter the portal, including start running back Isaac Brown, backup running back Duke Watson and standout edge rusher A.J. Green.

In their third season under head coach Jeff Brohm, Louisville went 9-4 overall, including a 4-4 mark in ACC play and a 27-22 win over Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl. The Cardinals have won at least nine games in all three seasons under Brohm, doing so for the first time since 2012-14.

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