What we learned from Louisville football's first 2026 spring practice – The Courier-Journal

The word of the day was hungry. 
Louisville football head coach Jeff Brohm called a couple players hungry to get better and prove themselves, while noting that the Cardinals’ coaching staff must be hungry to take on anything to make the team better. Between new coaches at new positions and new players from both the transfer portal and high school recruiting class, Brohm is establishing a “hungry” mentality as the Cardinals began spring football practices Tuesday. 
“We’ve spent a lot of time since everyone got back to school 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. So, I think for the first day, it was a good job. There’s still a long ways to go.” 
UofL will have four more open practices before its spring football game at 6 p.m. April 17 at L&N Stadium.  
Here are three takeaways from the Cardinals’ first open practice: 
Cardinals linebacker/safety Antonio Watts and Vanderbilt transfer wide receiver Tre Richardson will miss spring practices. Watts suffered a knee injury and had surgery after Louisville’s 20-19 loss to Clemson on Nov. 19, while Richardson had foot surgery after the Commodores’ 34-27 ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Iowa on New Year’s Eve. 
Brohm said Richardson and Watts are both on target to be healthy by July, at the latest. Watts had initially entered the transfer portal in the offseason but opted to stay with Louisville for his final year of college.
“He’s played a lot of football, so for him, getting him healthy, it’s important,” Brohm said of Watts, who ended the season with 42 tackles (6½ for loss) two sacks and a team-leading three interceptions. “He’s been out here learning, helping the others, and I think he’ll be a big part of the defense.” 
Brohm has mastered the art of uncovering hidden gems. At Purdue, he turned walk-on Aiden O’Connell into an NFL quarterback. And at Louisville, Tyler Shough used a stellar seventh-year senior season to become the third quarterback taken in the 2025 NFL draft before becoming the New Orleans Saints’ starter as a rookie.
Now, Brohm has the opportunity to develop Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz into one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
The South Dakota native was buried on the Buckeyes’ depth chart during his time in Columbus, Ohio, but is slated to be UofL’s QB1 this fall. Kienholz’s mobility and athleticism immediately jump out. He also has a decent, though sometimes inconsistent, range of throws, a testament to his youth and inexperience. Brohm will have plenty of time to work with Kienholz in preparation for the Cardinals’ season opener against Ole Miss. 
“I think any time you maybe haven’t played as much as you want, you’re hungry, you want to go prove yourself. I love coaching those type of guys,” Brohm said. “… Lincoln is the guy we brought in here to take the reins and showcase what he’s all about. And to this point, he’s done a good job. Now, we’ll get into pads, we’ll get into some game situations and we’ll have to push the envelope there to make sure that him, plus all the quarterbacks, are gaining those real reps that matter. But I think he’s eager to get that done.” 
Richardson is expected to be one of Louisville’s starting receivers in the fall. TreyShun Hurry appears to have retained his role as a starter after starting in 10 of 13 games played last season. He’s talented but still somewhat inexperienced after having played just 317 snaps, the fewest of Louisville players who didn’t miss a game. Embracing the role of being a go-to player is the next step in his development, something Brohm believes he’s ready to take on. 
After Richardson and Hurry, that leaves one other starting spot, with Florida State transfer Lawayne McCoy eyeing the position. McCoy doesn’t have the size nor physicality that Chris Bell did but offers versatility in where he can play after taking 230 snaps in the slot and 217 snaps out wide for the Seminoles last season. Like Hurry, the biggest knock is McCoy’s inexperience. 
“He’s got to continue to gain experience, and he does still have some youth, but he can run,” Brohm said. “He’s got to be a big playmaker for us.” 
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit. 

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