Cards ‘Springing’ into practice with new faces everywhere

By RUSS BROWN • Photos Provided By UofL Athletics 

Now that college basketball’s March Madness is history, it’s time for football, the annual spring practice version that will shed some light on what to expect from Louisville in the upcoming season prior to the opening of fall camp in August that will provide more answers. 

A couple of important factors we know already: U of L will have a bunch of new faces on both sides of the ball and on head honcho Jeff Brohm’s coaching staff as he prepares to start his fourth season running the school’s gridiron program. 

Louisville held the first of 15 practices on March 17 and will continue until the annual Spring Game on April 17 at 6 P.M. at L&N Stadium. None of the remaining workouts are open to the public. 

As usual in these days of the transfer portal when players change schools faster than you can say touchdown, it has become necessary for coaches to rebuild their roster on an annual basis in order to survive. Brohm signed 32 transfers during the offseason, a class that ranks 18th nationally and third in the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to 247Sports. 

“We’ve spent a lot of time since everyone got back to school (for the spring semester) learning the new nuances of the offense and defense, a lot of new players absorbing the information,” Brohm said. “They’ve been getting in good shape physically and condition-wise, and now it’s about putting it together. There’s still a long ways to go.” 

Drawing the most attention and heading the transfer haul is Lincoln Kienholz, Brohm’s fourth quarterback in as many years. But the former Ohio State signal-caller will be around for two seasons instead of just one like Jake Plummer, Tyler Shough and Miller Moss because he is a junior eligibility-wise, having redshirted in 2024. So Brohm will have plenty of time to develop him. 

Despite being a four-star recruit coming out of high school in Pierre, South Dakota, Kienholz didn’t see much action during his three seasons with the Buckeyes. After playing in three games as a true freshman in 2023 and redshirting in 2024, he competed for the starting job in 2025, but was beaten out by Julian Sayin, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy vote. In all, Kienholz appeared in 10 games for OSU, completing 21-of-36 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown. He gained 66 yards rushing with two touchdowns. 

“He’s had to sit back, watch and learn, which is not a lot of fun as a backup quarterback,” Brohm said. “I think any time you maybe haven’t played as much as you want, you’re hungry, you want to prove yourself. I love coaching those type of guys. He knows his time is now, and we’re going to work very hard every day to help him play his best football as we get going into the season.” 

The Cardinals will have to be ready to go at the start of the season because their opening opponent will be a tough one -- Mississippi on Sunday, Sept. 6 in the inaugural Music City Kickoff at Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL Tennessee Titans, at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. Tickets for the game will go on sale April 8. The Rebels are projected as a Top-10 team and are coming off the most successful season in program history at 13-2. They earned the school’s first appearance in the College Football Playoff, where they were the No. 6 seed and defeated No. 11 Tulane 41-40 and No. 3 Georgia 39-34 before losing in the semifinals to Miami 31-27. 

Louisville finished the 2025 season with a 9-4 record, closing the year with victories over Kentucky and Toledo. The nine-win campaign marked the Cards’ third consecutive season with at least nine victories under head coach Jeff Brohm, accomplishing that feat for only the second time in program history. 

The matchup will mark the second meeting between the two programs. Their only other meeting came in the 2021 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, in a season opener won by the Rebels, 43–24. 

A RARE STAFF SHAKEUP FOR 2026 

When it comes to Brohm’s assistant coaches, he was able to maintain stability through his first three seasons, but the current offseason has been marked by a widespread shakeup, with six newcomers being hired and several already on the staff being assigned to new roles. 

Brohm lost four position coaches since U of L’s win over Toledo in the Bush’s Beans Boca Raton Bowl in December -- Richard Owens (offensive line), Ryan Wallace (tight ends), Ron English (defensive coordinator/safeties) and Mark Hagan (defensive line). 

Brohm named assistants Mark Ivey and Steve Ellis as co-defensive coordinators in early February, with Ivey leading the defensive line and Ellis overseeing the secondary. 

The group of new hires includes a familiar name. Paul Petrino, the younger brother of former UofL head coach Bobby Petrino, has rejoined the offensive coaching staff after a 20-year absence as “senior assistant coach” working with tight ends. Paul’s son Mason has served as Brohm’s offensive quality control coach for the past two seasons.

Of course, UofL fans need no introduction to the Petrino clan. Bobby served two tours as head coach totaling 11 years -- from 2003-2008 and again from 2014-2018. He was hired this offseason as offensive coordinator at North Carolina, his 19th team as either an assistant or head coach in his 41-year career. 

Paul, who was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Alabama last season, will be in his third stint as Louisville. He was the Cards’ wide receivers coach under John L. Smith from 1998-99 before returning as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for his brother from 2003-2006. Besides UofL and South Alabama, he has also coached at five other colleges and with the Atlanta Falcons. His only head coaching job was at Idaho from 2013-2021, where his nine teams were a combined 34-66. 

Other staff moves include: 

The return of veterans Dale Williams as offensive line coach and Derrick Jackson as a defensive assistant, both of whom have 25 years of experience. Former Western Kentucky coach David Elson, a 30-year veteran, as defensive assistant. Adam Mueller, promoted to linebackers coach and Brandon Sharp elevated to safeties coach. Newcomers Chase Heuke as Director of Recruiting and Nate Dennison Director of Scouting.