The college football transfer portal is becoming active again. Could Louisville football find some luck?
While it feels like Louisville football’s winter-spring football was ages ago, most programs around the country are hosting spring games and wrapping up practices. With the transfer portal free agency happening in college basketball, the names leaping into the portal on the football side have been overshadowed.
Louisville has lost a few players to the transfer portal, but overall has been relatively unscathed after spring. Other programs haven’t been so lucky as the completion of spring football has lead to another wave of entries.
During his media availability in the spring, Scott Satterfield mentioned that Louisville still has some holes on its roster and I tend to agree. Whether it be on offense or defense some spots still could use a boost.
Presley Meyer has done an outstanding job of keeping our audience updated on transfers on the basketball side, so it’s my duty to step to the plate for football. There’s been no official reports or even rumors of Louisville looking at players or being interested in players that are in the portal – so this is purely speculatory. Keep in mind, that doesn’t mean they aren’t monitoring the portal (they definitely are).
With that in mind, there are a few players who are available that would:
- Be able to play at Louisville
- Fill a pressing need
Here are just a few.
John Ridgeway – DT, Illinois State
Ridgeway’s recruitment has taken off over the last 48-72 hours with Penn State, Michigan, Arkansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Texas, and others getting involved. His recruitment will be unique considering he’s played a spring season at FCS Illinois State, wrapping up just recently. With those types of schools extending offers, Louisville would be silly to not get involved. While they may not carry the name recognition, what they offer right now is just as valuable – playing time.
As I’ve highlighted on the From The Pink Seats Podcast, the nose tackle position is a glaring concern entering the 2021 season. With the defense as a whole looking to make another massive jump in improvement, the DT spot could easily be the weak link. Don’t get me wrong, Malik Clark, Dez Tell, and a healthy and focused Henry Bryant is a nice group. However, none have started more than a handful of games and have never recorded significant statistics.
So who is this Ridgeway fella? To start he’s a recent transfer portal addition, following a 4-game shortened fall season with Illinois State.
He’s a 6’6, 320-pound defensive tackle/nose guard who has spent the last four seasons as a Redbird. You’ll be hard-pressed to find consistent stats out there, but according to multiple outlets, Ridgeway posted 22 tackles, 3 TFL’s, and 3 interceptions during the shortened season. In 2019, he dominated the FCS level, totaling 50 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 3 PBU’s on the way to being an honorable mention All-Missouri Valley player.
The fit doesn’t necessarily align 100% on paper for a few reasons. Satterfield has only recruited a handful of defensive lineman who weight over three-bills, dating back to his time at App State. Weighing in at 320, Ridgeway isn’t necessarily the fastest player which goes the fundamental strength of a Bryan Brown/Satterfield defense. Speed may not be the strong point of his game, but he is a disruptive player who has a nice burst off the ball and doesn’t often miss tackles. The film is impressive to say the least.
Louisville needs another body who can clog the middle up and allow for penetration from the blitzes and someone who can help improve on what was an incredibly bad stuff rate in 2020. They’d have to move quickly (something I don’t think they’ll do) in order to land Ridgeway, but they have the recruiting tools to do it.
Kaleb Oliver – S, Georgia Tech (Grad-transfer)
Scholarships are limited (I believe the count is 1) so it’s unlikely Louisville will land multiple players unless there’s more roster movement. Should Satterfield and Brown feel content on the defensive line, the next logical place they could look is at safety.
Satterfield stressed how youthful (but promising) his group of safeties were this spring. Losing two starters wasn’t ideal but the returning talent and incoming additions made things much easier to stomach. Kendrick Duncan has looked the part since transferring from Georgia Southern but with the youth and inexperience at the other safety spot, it’s not far-fetched to think an addition could come closer to the season. Add in the recent arrest and subsequent suspension of likely-starter Lovie Jenkins and things get even murkier.
Finding experience will be crucial and the right fit could take Louisville’s defense to an even further level of production. Duncan will bring thee years experience at Georgia Southern, including all-conference nods. He’ll also bring 138 tackles, 14 pass break-ups, and 6 interceptions to the table.
Kaleb Oliver, who entered the transfer portal back in February, could be a nice addition to the defense. Playing three years at Georgia Tech, Oliver appeared in 33 games, starting in a handful of those. He totaled 91 tackles, 2 sacks, 8 pass break-ups, and 3 interceptions, doing so in a variety of roles ranging from safety to nickel, to linebacker.
His role in 2019 led to decreased snaps and ultimately his decision to transfer.
Oliver is a big kid, much like Louisville has been recruiting, at 6’4, 220-pounds. His versatility is intriguing, considering his experience at playing both safety spots and linebacker. With the safeties often dropping down to outside linebacker in Louisville’s defense, Oliver could help soften the losses from last year at both spots.
The dude is a physical presence who has the ability to play well in both the run and pass games.
Mike Woods – WR, Arkansas
I know it seems silly to seek a transfer when you already have 14 guys at the position but stick with me here. Louisville is losing two incredibly high-powered veteran pieces in Tutu Atwell and Dez Fitzpatrick. With an offense that is ready to hit the ground running everywhere else (QB/O-Line/HB), the pass-catcher situation still has me a little uneasy.
Satterfield added WR-convert Shai Werts to the roster, an addition that surely will make an impact. There’s also a handful of veterans and young guys like Justin Marshall, Ahmari Bruce-Huggins, Braden Smith , etc. However, the experience and stats are underwhelming. Marshall, Smith, Watkins, Josh Johnson, and Tyler Harrell have all seen the field (Marshall leads with 3 starts) but there’s not anyone who has come close to putting up #1 receiver stats.
All of that to say, Louisville may not feel content with Cunningham’s targets.
Enter Mike Woods.
He’s started 29 games in three years at Arkansas and was supposed to be stepping into the number 1 role this season before heading to the NFL. Over his career Woods has 65 receptions for 1,042 yards and 9 touchdowns – climbing into the top 25 in career receiving yards at Arkansas.
After spring football Woods entered the portal, and it appears could be looking for a bigger name home. Rumors have swirled that there were disagreements between Woods and the OC at Arkansas, but Woods shot that down.
It’s likely that Woods would look at a Big 12 school considering his Texas roots, but in an ideal world Louisville should get involved. The recruiting pitch may not be “come to Oklahoma and play for a premier school,” but it could be “come to Louisville, step into the role left by Atwell (over 1850 yards in 22 games under Satt) and Fitzpatrick.
With an experienced quarterback in tow, Woods and Cunningham would be one of the top pairings in the ACC. Say what you will about Cunningham’s turnovers, but few QB’s have thrown for over 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns the last two years. Cunningham is at his best when he has a reliable pass-catcher he can go to over-and-over again. Woods is a solid route-runner and a big time play maker (16.0 ypc career avg).
I think Louisville will be fine with their targets now but adding another receiver could put the offense back at the level it was in 2019.
