With Louisville’s offense drawing most of the attention, the Cardinals’ defense has been easy to overlook. That’s a mistake.
Jeff Brohm’s group quietly finished second in the ACC in 2025, gave up just over 21 points per game, and ranked 38th nationally. Now the challenge is whether that unit can stay near that level after several changes on the defensive side of the ball.
Brohm added transfer help, and five projected defensive starters are expected to come from the portal. That should deepen a unit that already has plenty of talent, especially up front.
Louisville’s edge room is one of its strongest areas, and Clev Lubin is back after leading the Cardinals with 8.5 sacks in his first season. If the defense is going to carry Louisville into the ACC title race, though, a few lesser-known players have to give it a lift.
A.J. Green is one of the biggest wild cards.
The junior defensive lineman is now in his third year in the system and has improved every season. Through two years, he has five sacks and one forced fumble, with four of those sacks coming in 2025.
Three came over his final five games, a stretch that hinted at more coming. At 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, Green has the frame and athleticism to do real damage opposite Lubin.
If he puts it all together, five-plus sacks is a realistic next step, and Louisville could end up leaning on him as one of the anchors of its pass rush.
Koen Entringer brings something different. The Iowa transfer arrives with more than 25 games of experience in a physical defensive system, and Louisville clearly values what that brings to the back end.
At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, he has the size to help immediately at safety. He also comes with a strong-game resume: last season he played in ranked matchups against Iowa State, Indiana, Oregon, and USC, and finished those contests with 29 total tackles, including 17 solo stops.
Louisville is expected to have three new transfer starters in the secondary, with as many as five newcomers seeing significant snaps, so Entringer’s ability to steady that group could matter a lot.
Then there’s Tyler Thompson, another transfer who could end up being more important than his role suggests. He comes over from North Carolina after three seasons there and appeared in 10 games last season.
His best work came in a four-game midseason burst when he piled up all seven of his sacks and both forced fumbles. Those plays came in ACC games against Cal, Syracuse, Virginia, and Stanford, which showed he can deliver when the conference schedule tightens.
Thompson is projected behind Green and Lubin at edge, but that doesn’t make him a throw-in. Louisville needs that rotation to stay fresh, and Thompson’s ability to keep the pressure coming without a drop-off could be a major piece of the defense Brohm wants to build.
In Other News...
Louisville Fall Camp Hinges On A Quarterback Twist Brian Brohm Wants
Louisvilles fall camp opens with the quarterback room already drawing the most attention, and the Cardinals have a new face at the top of the conversation. Transfer Lincoln Kienholz arrives from Ohio State to lead a mix that also includes Devin Wydner, freshman Briggs Cherry and walk-on Ryan Zimmerman, giving offensive coordinator Brian Brohm a group with different levels of experience but one clear source of uncertainty the staff wants sorted early.
Brohms comments made it clear the competition is about more than just naming a starter, because Louisville wants a quarterback who can help shape the offense in multiple ways. Kienholz brings dual-threat ability and leadership into the equation, and the way the Cardinals handle that fit will matter as camp unfolds with Ole Miss waiting to open the 2026 season. [Read more 🡒]
Braxton Jennings Gave Louisville Fans A Backfield Reminder They Needed
Braxton Jennings already gave Louisville fans a glimpse of what he can do in last years meeting with Kentucky, when the redshirt freshman from Ashland, Ky., helped chip in on the ground in a game that ended the Wildcats Stoops era with a 41-0 loss. The performance did more than just pad a stat sheet. It served as a reminder that Louisville has a young back with a knack for stepping into a rivalry spotlight and making his carries count.
That matters now because Jennings enters the upcoming season in a crowded backfield, where returning players and new additions will keep the rotation busy. He is expected to compete for situational work, which does not guarantee volume but does keep him in the mix for meaningful snaps if he can build on the kind of showing he flashed against Kentucky. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles 2026-27 Slate Is Starting To Reveal Pat Kelseys Plan
Louisvilles 2026-27 nonconference schedule is starting to take shape, and the latest additions fit the sort of December tune-up pattern that often reveals how a staff wants to manage its roster. The Cardinals have added home games at the KFC Yum! Center against Long Island on Dec. 16 and Eastern Michigan on Dec. 19, giving Pat Kelsey another pair of chances to keep his team in rhythm before the grind of league play arrives.
Both visiting programs will receive $100,000 for the trips, which is a fairly standard arrangement for games like these and a reminder of how much of the early schedule is built around balance, budgeting and timing. Louisville still has more of its slate to be finalized, but these two additions help clarify the shape of the season and offer another glimpse at how Kelsey is piecing together the calendar around his broader plan. [Read more 🡒]