Lincoln Kienholz Excelling Early in Louisville's Spring Practice

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When it comes to roster management and construction in college football, thanks to NIL and the transfer portal, it's never been more chaotic than ever. Take the quarterback position at Louisville for example.

Stretching back to the end of the Scott Satterfield era, the Cardinals are set to have their fifth starting quarterback in as many seasons. That includes current head coach Jeff Brohm opting to go with a transfer signal caller in each of his first three years at the helm, in addition to his upcoming fourth season this fall. For Louisville's 2026 campaign, Brohm and his staff are going with Lincoln Kienholz as their starter, who transferred in after spending the last three seasons at Ohio State.

"I think (the system) obviously sticks out," Kienholz said this past Monday when asked why he chose to transfer to UofL. "Coach Brohm has had a good history of quarterbacks that have gotten drafted into the NFL. Obviously, him and Brian as well, they were quarterbacks, so they know the game. They know what it takes to be a quarterback, so that intrigued me a lot.

"The past couple years with quarterbacks, and just the success that they've had with the offense (intrigued me). Just being able to throw the ball a lot, but then also being able to control the run game, and be a big part in that."

Brohm had already been impressed with how Kienholz had conducted himself in his first few months on campus. One week into UofL's month-long spring practice, which started last week, Brohm and others have liked what they have seen out of Kienholz in his first live practices.

"I think Lincoln's done a good job," Brohm said. "Anytime you maybe haven't played as much as you want, you're hungry. You want to go prove yourself. I love coaching those type of guys. He wants to get on the field and show what he can do. He's got a good arm, really good athlete. He's studied very hard to this point. ... Lincoln, of course, is the guy we brought in here to take the reins and showcase what he's all about. To this point, he's done a good job.

"Now we'll get into pads, we'll get into some game situations, and we'll have to push the envelope there to make sure that him - plus all the quarterbacks - are gaining those real reps that matter. But I think he's eager to get that done. He's done a good job at this point."

As Brohm alluded to, unlike previous portal pickups Jack Plummer, Tyler Shough and Miller Moss, Kienholz does not have any starting experience in college. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback made 12 appearances off the bench during his time in Columbus with the Buckeyes, going 21-of-36 for 250 yards and a touchdown, along with 17 rushes for 68 yards and two scores.

But with Kienholz, a lack of starting experience is not due to a lack of talent, athleticism and potential. In fact, over his final two seasons in Columbus, he was neck-and-neck with both Will Howard and Julian Sayin in offseason battles to be starting quarterback. Howard won the gig in 2024, eventually leading OSU to a national championship, while Sayin was a Heisman Trophy finalist this past season and is returning for 2026.

"We went back, watched his spring stuff, watched his high school stuff, watched the reps that he had in games, and really liked his ability, his talent, and his upside," offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Brohm said. "Now with him. compared to the other guys that we've had, obviously less experience. The last three years, those guys that have started a lot of football games. He's a guy that we've got to develop, got to get him ready to go in for the real live action. But we're really high on his talent."

In Louisville's first two spring practices, both of which were open to the public, Kienholz's aforementioned talent was on full display. His arm strength jumped off the page, and was roughly on par with what we were accustomed to seeing from Shough in his lone season as a Cardinal in 2024. On top of that, both in terms of extending plays and making plays, his abilities with his legs are by far the best we have seen out of a quarterback at Louisville under Brohm.

"He's got a lot of talent," Brian Brohm said. "He's got a big arm, he can throw all around the field. He's athletic. I envision us using his legs, using his athleticism in some of the QB run game, read game, read option game. He can do all those things that maybe we haven't done as much in the past, but he has an extra element to the offense that we haven't had."

On top of his traits being on full display in practice, Kienholz has shown early on a good command and understanding of the offense. Brohm's playbook is notoriously deep and complex, but Kienholz viewed that as an opportunity.

"It's awesome," he said regarding the playbook. "It's super aggressive at times, but then also you have to be able to manage things too when it's not there. Control the run game, I think that's huge.

"Then just earn the trust from coaches so they keep calling those big plays, keep calling those shots and stuff like that, so that they know you're gonna make the right play. It's definitely intriguing to me."

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for the latest news.

More Cardinals Stories