Position Preview: Secondary

Last season, Louisville’s secondary was an area of strength in most games and forced a lot of turnovers. This year, they return the cornerback 1 and 2 from last year’s team, while adding DJ Waller and Brycen Scott at the cornerback position, and almost an entirely new safety rotation. In this article, I’ll go into depth on each player and what they bring to this year’s team!

Tayon Holloway:

Tayon is a bonafide cornerback 1 in college football. He was Louisville’s best corner last season, and has been getting a lot of love all offseason. Some CFB outlets rank him as high as a top ten corner in the nation. While I may not go that far, I do love Tayon’s game. At 6’1 190lbs, he is about the ideal size for a cornerback. He has a plus wingspan and is great at tracking the ball once it is in the air. In my opinion, you can feel comfortable leaving him on an island against most WRs in college football. 

Brycen Scott:

Scott is a transfer from FCS Elon. This past season at Elon he posted 35 total tackles, 7 pass deflections, and 0.5 sacks. Louisville has consistently picked pieces of their secondary from the FCS ranks, and Scott seems to be adjusting to the FBS level the quickest. He has been a bright spot in practice. He comes in at 5’11 195 lbs, but plays much bigger. Brycen was also featured as a return man for Elon, but I doubt he gets any time there this season. He also has multiple years of eligibility, which is huge as the secondary features a lot of seniors.

DJ Waller:

Waller is another transfer, this time from SEC rival Kentucky. DJ decided to follow Vince Marrow this offseason, and has proven to be a valuable pickup for the Cards. I fully expect Tayon and Waller to be CB1 and CB2 to start the season. Waller missed most of the 2025 season due to injury, but shined in his true freshman season at Michigan. He was a part of Michigan’s national championship roster, and named defensive freshmen of the week 5 times that season. If DJ can stay healthy, he has tremendous upside. 

Jabari Mack:

Mack was recently granted a 5th year of eligibility and decided to return to the Cardinals for another season. He was CB2 for Louisville last season and had some huge games. His most notable performance came against Miami, where he picked off Carson Beck and received a PFF grade of 88.2, helping Louisville upset the second ranked Hurricanes. Although Jabari just returned to practice this week, I expect him to be a huge piece of this year’s defense.

Other cornerbacks:

Louisville has a few exciting, young cornerback prospects on the roster that have been making waves in practice. Most notable of those is true freshman Jaydin Broadnax, a 4 star from Florida. Jaydin has been getting reps with the twos in practice and done extremely well. I wouldn't be surprised if he plays his way into game action. Santana Wilson and Antonio Harris are two redshirt freshman that will also see playing time this year. Harris is a Louisville product, and Wilson is a transfer from Texas. Both will be huge pieces of next year’s defense, as long as they return. 

Koen Entringer:

Koen is another transfer, and a huge one at that. Coming over from Iowa, Entringer is expected to be a star for Louisville’s defense. He started all 12 games for a VERY good Iowa defense, and was a captain in all 12 games as well. He brings much needed leadership and experience. The hard hitting safety is personally one of my favorite portal pickups.

Micah Rice:

Micah is a redshirt freshman this season after not recording any stats last year. I’m interested to see what Louisville gets out of Micah this season. He appears to have put on some weight during the offseason. While he will get some playing time, I expect Koen to be in the game most of the time.

Kaleb Beasley:

Yet another transfer, Kaleb comes over from Tennessee after playing in all 13 games for the Volunteers. He is a junior, so he will be able to play for Louisville for multiple seasons, and is the expected starter at free safety. A former four star recruit, Beasley finished with 24 tackles and 1 pass deflection last season. After competing with TJ Banks during spring and fall camp, it appears that Beasley has won the starting spot.

TJ Banks:

TJ rounds out the group of transfers at the safety position, transferring in from Ole Miss after appearing in all 13 games and registering one start. He finished last season with 20 tackles, 1 pass breakup, and 0.5 tackles for loss. He’s a very physical piece at free safety, coming in at 6’3 200lbs. TJ is also eligible to return next season, as he is just a junior.

Other safeties:

D’Angelo Hutchinson and Jordan Vann are the two most notable names that I have not mentioned yet. Hutchinson recently gained a 5th year of eligibility and chose to exhaust it playing for the Cards. D’Angelo has played his entire college career with Louisville, and was a starter all of last season. He just returned to practice this week, so it is hard to imagine him making a huge impact at the beginning of the season, but I do expect him to get playing time at free safety later on. Vann is a true freshman that has been making significant headlines in fall camp. He is already one of the hardest hitters on the roster, and has been given praise by numerous coaches. It seems that the Cards have a star on their hands, as long as they can hold onto him.