Who's In, Who's Out and Who's Back for Louisville Football in 2026

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2025 season for the Louisville football program is now in the books, and with it will come an inevitable whirlwind of roster upheaval.

Between players declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft, transfers coming in and out, as well as new recruits joining the fold, sometimes it can be hard to track which scholarship players are joining, leaving and staying for another year. While the dust is far from being settled, we can start to have some idea as to what Louisville's roster will look like for the 2026 season.

As of the most recent update, the Cardinals are currently at 67 scholarship players - 18 under the traditional NCAA allotted maximum of 85. However, the scholarship cap was lifted to 105 as part of the House vs NCAA settlement.

As we progress through another long college football offseason, take a look below on who's in, who's out, and who's back for the Cardinals for the 2026 season:

*Each player's class is noted by their 2026 class.*

*This list will be updated if/when additional roster moves are made. Last updated: Dec. 28, 2025 - 9:30 a.m. EST*

Quarterbacks

Who's In (1): Briggs Cherry (Fr.)
Who's Out (2): Brady Allen (Transfer - TBD), Miller Moss (Graduation)
Who's Back (2): Deuce Adams (R-So.), Mason Mims (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 3

Summary: With Moss graduating following his one year at Louisville and Allen transferring after three years with the program, the Cardinals' quarterback room - at least right now - is very young. Adams has high upside thanks to his arm and mobility, but not a ton of in-game reps. Mims didn't see the field at all as a true freshman, and Cherry has a very high ceiling - but will also be a true freshman. The position has a ton of long term potential, but don't be surprised if Louisville goes the portal route here for 2026.

Running Backs

Who's In (1): Lekhy Thompkins (Fr.)
Who's Out (1): Shaun Boykins Jr. (Transfer - TBD)
Who's Back (4): Keyjuan Brown (R-Jr.), Isaac Brown (Jr.), Duke Watson (Jr.), Jamarice Wilder (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 5

Summary: Louisville's running back room might have been ravaged with injuries, but it still wound up being extremely productive when available. Isaac Brown continues to be an absolute game-break, Keyjuan Brown had a career year, and Duke Watson is still a capable back despite being hampered all season long. Not to mention walk-on Braxton Jennings showed out against Kentucky. If the Cardinals can keep this room together through the upcoming portal cycle, their ground game figures to be electrive once against next season.

Wide Receivers

Who's In (4): Payton Cook (Fr.), Marlon Harbin (Fr.), Gavin Waddell (Fr.), D.J. Williams (Fr.)
Who's Out (3): Chris Bell (Graduation), Dacari Collins (Graduation), Caullin Lacy (Graduation)
Who's Back (6): Antonio Meeks (R-Sr.), Bobby Golden (R-Sr.), TreyShun Hurry (R-Sr.), T.J. McWilliams (R-Sr.), Kris Hughes (R-Jr.), Brock Coffman (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 10

Summary: As of this writing, wide receiver is a prime candidate to be a massive portal emphasis for Louisville. For starters, your No. 1 and 2 guys in Bell and Lacy are graduating. Then while guys like Meeks, Hurry and Hughes have had a handful of good individual moments, there's not a ton of overall production amongst the returners. True freshmen like Cook and Waddell have high upside, but this is a position group where Louisville will likely want to add one or two high impact guys in the portal.

Tight Ends

Who's In (1): Julius Miles (Fr.)
Who's Out (3): Nate Kurisky (Transfer - TBD), Grant Houser (Transfer - TBD), Jacob Stewart (Graduation)
Who's Back (3): Jaleel Skinner (Sr.), Dylan Mesman (R-So.), Davon Mitchell (R-So.),
On Roster: 4

Summary: The tight end spot has continued to be under-utilized by Brohm at Louisville compared to his time at WKU and Purdue, so it's not a shock to see guys like Kurisky and Houser move on. Though tere is some potential here for next season, as Skinner is one of the most athletic players on the roster (which has shown in spurts), and Miles could very well push for early playing time given his talent. Though it's likely that, purely from a numbers standpoint, Louisville adds one or two tight ends from the portal here.

Offensive Line

Who's In (5): Bryten Close (Fr.), Benjamin Corhei (Fr.), Charles Edgeworth (Fr.), Max Merz (Fr.), Jarvis Strickland (Fr.)
Who's Out (7): Victor Cutler (Graduation), Michael Flores (Graduation), Rasheed Miller (Graduation), Mahamane Moussa (Graduation), Pete Nygra (Graduation), Makylan Pounders (Graduation), Trevonte Sylvester (Graduation)
Who's Back (11): Naeer Jackson (R-Sr.), *Lance Robinson (R-Sr.), Sam Secrest (R-Sr.), Jordan Church (R-Jr.), Fred Johnson (R-So.), Ransom McDermott (R-So.), Jimmy Williams III (R-So.), Gradey Anthony (R-Fr.), Tyler Folmar (R-Fr.), Cameron Gorin (R-Fr.), Carter Guillaume (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 16

*Waiver pending.

Summary: It was a tale of two halves for the offensive line in 2025, as they struggled immensely in the first half but thrived in the second. However, this group will look markedly different in 2025, as four of their five starters from this season are officially running out of eligibility. But the line isn't being left high and dry. Robinson is running it back for one more year, as is Church who was a key rotational players, and guys like Jackson, Guillaume and Gorin have performed well at points in their career and could be in line to make the jump to starters. While the O-line is in a good spot from a numbers standpoint and potential starters, there are still a handful of other players you'd like to see take a step forward.

Interior Defensive Line

Who's In (1): Sam Dawson (Fr.)
Who's Out (4): Selah Brown (Transfer - TBD), Jordan Guerad (Graduation), Rene Konga (Graduation), Denzel Lowry (Graduation)
Who's Back (3): Jerry Lawson (R-Sr.), Bailey Abercrombie (R-Fr.), Dillon Smith (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 4

Summary: This is another spot in which Louisville is expected to hit the portal heavy. Their starting defensive tackle duo in Guerad and Konga, as well as the third man in the rotation in Lowry, are all graduating. While Lawson looked good when he was on the field, the other three players in the room are very young/inexperienced. Not to mention they only have a two deep's worth of players at this spot.

Defensive End

Who's In (1): Jon Adams (Fr.)
Who's Out (3): Wesley Bailey (Graduation), Micah Carter (Transfer - TBD), A.J. Green (Transfer - TBD)
Who's Back (6): Justin Beadles (R-Sr.), Clev Lubin (R-Sr.), Maurice Davis (R-So.), Xavier Porter (R-So.), Eric Hazzard (R-Fr.), C.J. May (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 7

Summary: Louisville got a bunch of production out of their defensive end spot in 2025, and it's shaping up to be the same in 2026 despite losing a couple impact guys. This is primarily because Lubin is one of the best defensive players in the ACC, and was a certified game-wrecker in almost every single contest. Davis and Hazzard have also shown flashes at times, and May is a highly regarded prospect. Louisville will likely try and go after at least one more edge in the portal, but they're already in a solid spot right now here.

Linebackers

Who's In (2): Brady Ballart (Fr.), Taj Powell (Fr.)
Who's Out (3): Kalib Perry (Graduation), T.J. Quinn (Graduation), Nigel Williams (Graduation)
Who's Back (6): Antonio Watts (R-Sr.), Stanquan Clark (R-Jr.), T.J. Capers (R-Jr.), Trent Carter (R-So.), Caleb Matelau (R-Fr.), Cameron White (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 8

Summary: Even with three-time leading tackler Quinn moving on, on paper, Louisville's linebacking corps is still arguably the strongest defensive unit on the team. Despite missing most of the season due to injury, Clark's is still one of the Cardinals' best defensive players. Watts remains an X-Factor at STAR, and Capers is continuing to take steps forward. Depth is a slight concern, but it's a mild one at this point. The middle of the field will be very strong next season.

Cornerbacks

Who's In (2): Jaydin Broadnax (Fr.), Kris Brunson (Fr.)
Who's Out (2): Rodney Johnson Jr. (Graduation), Jabari Mack (Graduation)
Who's Back (4): Justin Agu (R-Sr.), Tayon Holloway (R-Sr.), Rae'mon Mosby (R-So.), Antonio Harris (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 6

Summary: The cornerback spot for Louisville was much better than anticipated this past season, but it's gonna look a little different next season with two of the top three corners moving on. Holloway did very well this year with a very high snap count, and Broadnax has a chance to get early playing time, but Agu, Mosby and Harris will likely need to take collective steps forward to elevate the room as a whole. It wouldn't be surprising if UofL added via the portal here.

Safeties

Who's In (1): Jordan Vann (Fr.)
Who's Out (3): JoJo Evans (Graduation), Daeh McCullough (Transfer - TBD), D'Angelo Hutchinson (Graduation)
Who's Back (3): Corey Gordon Jr. (R-Sr.), *Blake Ruffin (R-Sr.), Micah Rice (R-Fr.)
On Roster: 4

*Waiver pending.

Summary: Where Louisville is certainly going to add via the portal is here at the safety spot - and not just because they only have a two deep's worth of players in this room. Gordon stepped up big time as the go-to reserve in the safety rotation this season, but Ruffin and Rice don't have extensive production and experience at this level. Gordon is certainly amongst the top defensive returners for the Cardinals, but he'll need some help.

Special Teams

Who's In (0): N/A
Who's Out (1): LS Shai Kochav (Graduation)
Who's Back (0): N/A
On Roster: 0

Summary: With Kochav's college career over, for the moment, Louisville has no special teams players on scholarship. That being said, it would not be surprising at all to see placekicker Cooper Ranvier, or even Nick Keller, get put on scholarship when all is said and done.

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Line

Interior Defensive Line

Defensive End

Linebackers

Cornerbacks

Safeties

Special Teams

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