Louisville football is in the middle of one the hottest transfer portal recruiting streaks in program history. Breaking down each player to ink with Jeff Brohm and Co.
Louisville football head coach Jeff Brohm continues to put the nation on notice by adding talented player after talented player in the transfer portal, nearly remaking Louisville’s roster in his image.
Following the spring game on April 21st, the staff added a whopping 11 commitments within the next week and change. Four of these commitments were high school prospects in the class of ’24, which you can find my breakdown and evaluations on here.
More impressively, however, are the seven transfer prospects that can step in and make a major impact right away for the Cards.
Here’s a quick breakdown of these commitments and what role you can expect to see them in this upcoming season listed in order of commitment.
Willie Tyler III – Offensive Tackle, Rutgers
Offensive line depth has been a major concern for a lot of fans this offseason, and in one short week the staff made significant moves in the portal to remedy these issues; Starting with Rutgers graduate transfer Willie Tyler III.
Tyler has been a bit of a journeyman, as Louisville will be the fourth program he has played for in his five years in college. However, Tyler boasts a 6’6, 320lb frame and 18 starts at left tackle (9 at Louisiana-Monroe, 9 at Rutgers, respectively) – he has the skill set to contend for a starting position right away.
Although his starting experience is exclusively at left tackle, he could act as a valuable swing tackle should he not win the starting job outright. Tyler is the kind of player that is going to help the new staff win in the trenches right away.
Cam’Ron Kelly – Safety, North Carolina
Cam’Ron Kelly is a graduate transfer with a wealth of game experience and ACC play under his belt.
The versatile defensive back primarily plays a strong safety role, and in North Carolina’s defense, this often put him in a middle field zone or covering the nickel in man. He was effective in both types of coverage, as well as being an asset in run support.
He played his best football during the 2021 season, in which he amassed 68 total tackles, 4 interceptions, and 3 pass breakups en route to a 3rd-team All-ACC selection.
In 2022 he played through a lower-body injury during the majority of the season, and if he returns to full strength, he could prove to be a highly valuable asset and contend for the starting strong safety role.
At worst, Kelly is an excellent rotational defensive back for a suddenly very deep secondary. At best, he could once more make his case for all-conference honors and a plus-level starter for Ron English’s defensive unit.
Keith Brown – Linebacker, Oregon
While offensive line depth was sorely needed, there was perhaps no position group on the roster in need of a starting-caliber player more than linebacker. Louisville football fans got one of their most sought-after transfer prospects: former Oregon linebacker, Keith Brown.
Brown was a composite top 150 player and top 10 linebacker coming out of high school and has shown bright flashes of that talent in his two years at Oregon.
Brown is a good athlete at the position and plays with physicality in troves. His motor runs hot and he is relentless in pursuit of the ball carrier.
He saw game action in 19 games throughout his career at Oregon and drew 3 starts during that time, sitting behind an extremely talented starting linebacker group including the Chicago Bear’s 5th round draft pick, Noah Sewell, and future NFL Draft picks, Justin Flowe and Jestin Jacobs.
Brown should get the opportunity to contend for a starting spot with the Cardinals, should look to be an impact player for the Louisville defense from day one, and has three remaining seasons of eligibility.
Storm Duck – Cornerback, North Carolina
What’s better than landing one All-ACC defensive back hailing from a rival ACC program? Landing TWO All-ACC defensive backs from a rival ACC program.
Storm Duck had visited the Cards prior to transferring initially to Penn State. He opted to re-enter the portal and join Ron English’s defense after all, delighting Louisville fans with the prospect of both a high-level starter at cornerback as well as boasting a truly All-conference name.
Duck comes with a wealth of game experience, having 33 games played and 27 starts in his four years as a Tarheel. Injury robbed Duck of significant time during his sophomore and junior seasons, but his tape of his freshman and senior seasons paint a picture of a true lockdown corner and potential day-two NFL draft pick.
Duck is coming off of his best collegiate season in which he had 46 total tackles, 3 interceptions, and 10 passes defended, leading to a second-team All-ACC selection.
Duck figures to command a starting spot right away, but with the massive talent influx into the secondary this offseason it will lead to a true battle.
Lance Robinson – Offensive Line, Houston
Lance Robinson, another huge addition to the offensive line group, stands at 6’4 and 290lbs and joins the Cards with three remaining seasons of eligibility after stops at Houston (2022) and Middle Tennessee (2020 and 2021).
In his time with both the Cougars and Blue Raiders, a majority of his snaps came at right tackle. During his season with Houston, he played in all 13 games including 11 starts with all of his snaps coming at right tackle and only allowing 4 sacks during that frame.
Robinson possesses the requisite body type and athleticism to play multiple positions across the line, but his distinct experience coming at right tackle will make for a legitimate position battle come fall camp. With the offensive line position group suddenly becoming a much deeper talent pool, expect some shakeups to the depth chart from now until the start of the season.
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Eric Miller – Offensive Tackle, Purdue
The run on transfer offensive linemen continues, this time in the form of a familiar face from Brohm and staff’s stint at Purdue.
A 6’7, 300lb graduate transfer, Eric Miller is quite possibly the most valuable offensive line transfer the staff has landed thus far and makes a case for most impactful transfer in terms of potential single-season impact. The long-tenured former Boilermaker has come a long way since being a 260lb prospect well outside the top 1000 prospects in the nation (per 247 composite rankings).
Miller has appeared in a whopping 41 games and drawn 29 starts at both left and right tackle. During the 2022 season, he started all 14 games, 5 at left tackle and 9 at right tackle. The seasoned veteran has only allowed 8 career sacks. His familiarity with Brohm’s offense will undoubtedly allow him to serve in a leadership role during his final season of college eligibility. It is difficult to imagine Miller not occupying one of the two starting tackle spots right out of the gate, and his flexibility will allow offensive line coach, Richard Owens to get his best 5 guys on the field.
Marcus Washington Jr.– Cornerback, Georgia
Just when you thought Louisville’s cornerback room is loaded, the staff went out and added another former blue-chip recruit and national champion to what now appears to be the deepest, most talent-rich position group on the roster.
Marcus Washington Jr. spent his true freshman year at Georgia, seeing extremely limited action. Both the circumstances of transferring as well as the potential of the player will remind Cardinal fans of fellow #FlyVille23 transfer Marquis Groves-Killebrew.
Both were highly rated corner prospects in the class of ’22 who saw limited action as freshmen but have superb talent. Both look to be immediate impact players for Ron English’s defense as well as long-term fixtures in the secondary. Washington plays an extremely physical style of football and is not afraid to get involved in run support. He also made multiple splash plays on special teams in high school, from blocked punts to involvement in the return game.
Though the exact rotation will be tough to determine due to the impressive depth in the cornerback room, Washington will be hard to keep off the field. Expect to see him earn significant snaps in a rotational role before making his case for a full-time starting spot in ’24.
