Louisville Football Concludes First Scrimmage of 2026 Camp

Head Coach Jeff Brohm breaks down the first scrimmage of the fall for the 2026 Louisville football team.

Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm speaks at the 2026 ACC Football Kickoff | Atlantic Coast Conference Pool Photo

While the access for the media and fans to get a glimpse of the 2026 Louisville Football has come to an end, the action heated up this morning inside L&N Cardinal Stadium as the team composed its first scrimmage.  Head coach Jeff Brohm met with media members after the scrimmage to break down what he observed.

Upon observation, he seemed pleased with the offense after the scrimmage.  The defense fell suspect to the big play.  Brohm was pleased with his quarterback, Lincoln Kienholz and his ability to make plays on the run.  Kienholz has had a good camp & is mastering comfortability with all units in the offense.  Brohm acknowledged that the offense threw the ball more than they had anticipated and complimented the receivers for “making catches.”  Brohm is thrilled that Kienholz and Davin Wydner come in with two season of eligibility left.  To go along with the transfers, freshman Briggs Cherry is seen as an option who has the raw arm strength.  The hope is that this offseason they will not have to rely on the portal for a future QB.   

The tight ends made some plays as well and they are seen as a unit that has depth and needs to get involved in the offense early in the game.  Prized transfer Brody Foley has been dealing with a nagging concussion but is starting to enter the fold.  Jaleel Skinner is seen as a veteran voice that is continuing to improve.  Justyn Reid, a transfer from Tulane is seen as a physical presence that will play the h-back a bit and help open the running game up. 

Brohm stressed that the offensive line is making progress.   The strength of the offense is seen as the running back room.  Isaac Brown has slowly inserted himself into the rotation at practice and Brohm was asked about his star back after practice, “He did not do as much today, kind of what has happened before.  We will continue to work through and get him back to where he is feeling exactly the way he wants.  We have had some other running backs with a few strains too, because the work load has been pretty good, so we will manage that.  But its something they can all come back from and get healthy.”  

Brohm made note of a few newcomers stepping up into roles with injuries.  Marlon Harbin, a true freshman from Saint Xavier is getting some looks in the backfield with nagging injuries.  Gavin Waddell is getting some reps in the slot as Jackson Voth is coming back from injury.  The intriguing 6’6 freshman, Julius Miles is continuing to get run at the receiver position and is being seen as a red-zone target as he tries to build strength to develop into a power-five sized tight end. 

Louisville will be breaking in a new defensive coordinator in Nashville over Labor Day weekend.  Mark Ivey, who is familiar with the program and has not been shy to express intensity and aggressiveness will be taking the headset and calling the defense.  While the defense has talent all over the field, the cohesiveness on that side of the ball is something that needs to be worked on. While there has been praise for the talent level and play making ability on the defensive side this camp. Brohm says that the offense broke four or five plays and did not mince that some of it might be putting the guys in the right formation.  “Sometimes, I’m not going to lie, it’s the call.  You have to make sure you put the guys in the right position.  They have to understand the call & all the different combinations that could come at it, then make adjustments.  That’s something that needs to be studied by the coaching staff.”

Brohm has not been bashful to discuss the woes in the kicking/special teams unit thus far through camp.  With multiple personnel changes since spring ball, it is a work in progress to get those guys simulated game reps.  Over the next few weeks they will focus on building confidence and belief in themselves.  While we can expect to see some new faces, coach believes that this unit can get to where they need to be by kickoff in three weeks.  

The team will continue week two of fall camp Monday morning, before heading downtown for the annual kickoff luncheon.  The next scrimmage will be Friday morning.