Report: Louisville RB Isaac Brown No Longer Transferring, Will Return for 2026 Season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When recruiting the transfer portal, sometimes the best gets are the ones you already have.

Star running back Isaac Brown, one of the top players in all of college football, announced Sunday that he will return to the the Louisville football program for the 2026 season, according to On3's Hayes Fawcett and Pete Nakos.

On New Year's Day, Brown originally announced that he intended to enter the transfer portal with a "do no contact" tag. Texas was perceived as his eventual landing spot, but Brown never officially entered the portal. The 14-day transfer window opened up this past Friday, and it is the only opportunity for players to enter following the removal of the spring window.

Brown is the third significant retention for Louisville since the transfer portal window opened up. Star edge rusher Clev Lubin announced that he would be running it back, as did standout linebacker/safety Antonio Watts.

Louisville has had 21 players announce their intentions to enter to transfer in this cycle. Fortunately, the Cardinals are starting to gain their losses via the portal, landing a pair of commitments this past Saturday.

Ever since stepping foot on Louisville's campus, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound all-purpose back has been a home run threat every time he touches the ball. In just two years at the college level, he has already rushed for 2,057 yards and 18 touchdowns, as well as caught 43 passes for 200 yards and a score.

Brown burst onto the scene last year, putting together a dynamic true freshman campaign. Appearing in all 13 games and making nine starts, including the final eight, Brown rushed for 1,173 yards and 11 touchdowns on 165 carries, while also catching 30 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown.

Brown's 7.1 yards per carry led the ACC, while his rushing yardage placed third in the league, and his rushing touchdown total placed fifth. Not only did he break Lamar Jackson's true freshman rushing mark at Louisville, he tied Jackson's true freshman record for 100-yard rushing games with five.

Brown also became the Cardinals' first true freshman to ever rush for over 1,000 yards. His yardage total was also the most among power conference true freshmen, and the second-most among FBS true freshmen.

As a result, Brown took home numerous accolades. He earned Second-Team All-ACC honors, was named the ACC Offensive and Overall Rookie of the Year, and was named a Freshman All-American by PFF and 247Sports.

This past season as a sophomore, the Miami native was hampered by a couple lower body injuries, but still managed to put together a very good year. Playing in nine games while starting seven, he ran for 884 yards and seven touchdowns on 101 carries, while catching 13 passes for 48 yards. Brown's 8.8 yards per carry leads all of the FBS.

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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