Jeff Brohm still looking to add on offensive, defensive lines

Now that national signing day has come and gone and much of the first round of NCAA transfer portal activity has settled, coaches have a better idea where their remaining needs are. For first-year Louisville coach Jeff Brohm, it’s clear needs remain on the offensive and defensive line.

The Cardinals will be looking during the spring transfer window.

“Well I think always on the offensive and defensive line you’re keeping your eyes and ears open just to make sure you have enough physical bodies there to be able to compete at a high level,” Brohm said. “A lot of times, in my opinion, difference in the championship teams winning and other teams not is up front, so we want to always keep our eyes for that.”

But there are a few other areas Brohm also has highlighted where he’d take a transfer if the right fit emerged.

Louisville has some free scholarships to give still, so Brohm will be evaluating and considering potential additions at a few key positions like the offensive and defensive line.

“We want to continue to recruit the linebacker position, make sure we have enough guys to compete there,” he said. “In the secondary I feel good where we’re at but we have some injuries that we’re getting shored up that’ll take a little time, so we may be short in the spring. I think we addressed the receiver position and added depth there.

“We’ll always look at tight end as a unique position, so we’ll always look and just see if there’s a veteran that can come in and add to the mix. If there’s not, that’s fine too. We’ll make it work and probably those are the main spots right now.”

What is Brohm’s overall view when it comes to transfers?

“In general our philosophy is if there’s a great player out there that we think can help the team at any position, we’ll add them,” he said.

Louisville still has room to add more players

The Cardinals had just 15 players in their 2023 recruiting class following the departure of coach Scott Satterfield for the Cincinnati job and the arrival of Brohm at Louisville.

The good news is that leaves plenty of room for Brohm to work with.

“Well believe it or not we have quite a bit of room left, and I’m not used to that,” Brohm said. “Where I’ve been it’s been hard to fit guys in into your roster. We have plenty of room to continue to recruit and continue to add to our team and where we feel positions that can help us.”

Louisville also fits the mold as a program that is likely to benefit late from the addition of transfer portal prospects from smaller schools.

It’s a big enough jump up that many will relish the opportunity, so long as the Cardinals feel like it’s a good fit from a player that can help contribute. Brohm will get a better sense of that in the coming weeks.

“We’ll have some time possibly as we’re around our team now through workouts, through spring practice, be able to evaluate and see where we’re at as well,” he said. “All the way up until after spring and in the months of May, we can continue to add if we need to.”