Louisville's Wide Receiver Room Stepping Up Amid Myriad of Injuries

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In sports in general, whether significant or minuscule, injuries are bound to occur at some point. In football, because of the physical and violent nature of the game, injuries pop up on a somewhat regular basis.

For the Louisville football program, their wide receiver room is a perfect example.

Earlier this offseason when the portal was in full swing, the Cardinals' top-ranked transfer commitment was from Vanderbilt slot receiver Tre Richardson. Coming off of a season where he hauled in 46 receptions for 806 yards and seven touchdowns, Richardson is expected to be WR1 this fall after Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy ran out of eligibility.

But with spring practice for Louisville nearly over, Richardson has yet to participate. This past February, he had to have surgery to shave a bone spur in his foot - something that he played though this past season. Since then, he's been aggressively attacking his rehab process, and dedicating himself to learning the playbook so that he can be ready when the summer and fall camp rolls around.

"The biggest thing with him is, well, first and foremost, get him back healthy," wide receivers coach Deion Branch said of Richardson. "That's the first thing. I think he's shown us enough at Vandy. I've seen enough on film from him.

"Now it's just all about him getting in, and getting the playbook down. We'll have all summer to get that. We'll work out those kinks, but he has played a lot of football. So we're pretty satisfied with that piece. Now it's all about him processing, learning all our plays, implement his style of play with our stuff. He'll be fine."

But Richardson hasn't been the only wideout get bit by the injury bug as of late. Earlier this week, head coach Jeff Brohm announced that returner Kris Hughes and Kentucky transfer Montavin Quisenberry would both "probably" be out for the 2026 season after suffering undisclosed lower body injuries in camp.

"That's football," Branch said. "It's gift and a curse, and a bad part about it. Unfortunately, Kris was having a real good spring. Quisenberry was coming along well. Starting out a little rough, but he was doing a great job for us. Now it's just, it's on to these younger guys."

The receiver room might be dealing with a rash of significant injuries, but the remaining healthy players at the position have taken it upon themselves to elevate their respective games and take advantage of the additional reps they all will receiver in light of the injuries.

"It was unfortunate for those guys to go down, but we got a lot of young guys in the room that can play ball," wide receiver Lawayne McCoy said. "So it's a next man up mentality."

With Richardson on the mend, McCoy has actually been the receiver that has stood out the most in spring ball. A transfer from Florida State, he's coming off of a breakout sophomore campaign with the Seminoles, hauling in 27 receptions for 396 yards and three touchdowns.

Richardson will undoubtedly be the top option in the passing game for quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, but the coaches have loved what they have seen out of McCoy this spring, and expect him to make a significant impact this fall.

"He's doing a real good job," Branch said. "I'm very pleased with where he's at now. I've added way more on his plate, which is a plus, and he's actually digested everything right away. So we're pretty satisfied with where we are. There's more to be done, though. There's way more to be done."

Another receiver who was making stride in spring ball, even before Hughes and Quisenberry went down, is TreyShun Hurry. After transferring in from San Jose State last offseason, Hurry put together a fairly quiet 2025 season, finishing with 15 catches for 122 yards and one score.

Fortunately, Hurry looks like he has taken a much needed step forward in spring ball. In fact, if you ask head coach Jeff Brohm, he believes Hurry is ready to take on that third starting wide receiver role alongside Richardson and McCoy.

"I think you'll see TreyShun Hurry come on the scene in great detail this year," Brohm said earlier this week in a radio interview with 93.9 The Ville. "A lot of times we've had receivers that, sometimes, it takes the second year to really kind of show what they can do. And we've definitely seen that in camp."

McCoy and Hurry aren't the only ones who have excelled in spring ball. After putting together a great year at the FCS level with Drake last season, slot receiver Jackson Voth has been incredibly consistent.

It shouldn't be super surprising since he's coming off of a season where he caught 51 passes for 600 yards and five touchdowns, but it's been noteworthy to see him make a seamless transition to the FBS level. Especially considering a lot more was put on his plate after Hughes went down.

"Jackson is a very smart receiver," Branch said. "He's actually another coach on the football field, and that's a beautiful thing. We have a lot of guys running around, changing positions.

"He was one of the main guys that filled right in after Kris. We lose a veteran guy like Kris, and here's a new guy who actually has pretty much somewhat the same game. ... the experience is there now it's all about going out learning this offense, which he already has."

Beyond those three, there has been some good work amongst the younger and less experienced players. Brohm says that former Minnesota transfer T.J. McWilliams has "made strides" this spring, EKU transfer Jakob Dixon has made some solid plays in the open practices, and true freshman tight end Julius Miles - who has taken some rep out wide - has made a ton of plays this spring.

While injuries have been a factor, that hasn't put a damper on the spirits of the wide receiver room.

"I think so far, each and every last one of those guys have busting their tails," Branch said. "The effort is super high, and I love that. That's one thing you can't coach, and that's one thing that is you can do that, we'll take the rest. So far, I'm very impressed with the room. Still continue building, get through spring, make sure we stay healthy."

Louisville will wrap up spring ball with their annual spring game on Friday, Apr. 17. The Cardinals will kick off their 2026 season against Ole Miss in Nashville on Sunday, Sept. 6.

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