Louisville’s secondary looks different this fall, and Tayon Holloway is right in the middle of it.
The returning starting cornerback isn’t just trying to hold down his spot. He’s stepping into a bigger voice in the room as the Cardinals work through a deeper defensive backfield built to stay fresh over the course of a season-long push for the ACC Championship.
Holloway, listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, said the shift for him has been as much about leadership as anything else.
"The biggest difference would be just trying to be more of a leader," Holloway said. "Trying to take that leadership role and be the role model for the younger guys and the new players. Show them the way of how we do things at Louisville."
That has shown up in the locker room and at fall camp, and UofL Co-DC/CB Coach Steve Ellis has noticed.
"One thing about Tayon, he's a guy that's selfless," Ellis said last week. "Like, he loves being Tayon but most importantly, he loves his brothers.
"He does a good job of leading those guys on the field and off the field The good thing about Tayon they get a chance to watch him work Now he does he don't say a lot now He's not a big talker but he put his work in."
Holloway’s role on the field already carried plenty of weight. He was third on the team in total snaps last season and started all 13 games, earning All-ACC Honorable Mention recognition after finishing with 42 tackles and two interceptions.
Now, with portal additions giving Louisville more experience and more bodies at cornerback, the setup should allow Holloway and the rest of the room to share the load and keep legs fresh.
"Yeah, that's definitely probably a plus," Holloway said. "It's less taxing, so I would say so, yeah.
"Well, for me, it don't really matter how long I'm out there. [Coach Ellis said] we're a machine.
We've got to be able to go the whole game if we got to go. But, it's always great to have somebody that can come in behind you and put in the same work and make sure they get the job done too."
He says the competition helps, not hurts.
"I love competition," Holloway said. "Competition is good for the room.
Competition is good for the team. So, the more competition we got, the better.
So, I love it."
As the 2026 season approaches, Holloway’s focus stays on the bigger picture.
"Going to the ACC Championship, making the playoffs," he said.
No. 24 Louisville opens the season against No.
9 Ole Miss in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 6.
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