It’s (almost) August, you know what that means.
We are 41 days from Louisville football starting their season in Nashville against Ole Miss. To get ready for the upcoming season, we will break down every position group and cover some of the new faces, the familiar ones, and everything in between for the 2026 season.
First up, here’s a breakdown of Louisville’s special teams unit.
2025 Rewind: Special Teams
The special teams unit was a strength for the Cardinals last season. Cooper Ranvier made 21-of-25 field goals and 39-of-41 extra point attempts, earning Third Team All-ACC honors in 2025.
Nick Keller made two of his four field goals last season, but they were notable. Both were 57-yard attempts in back-to-back weeks against Bowling Green and Pittsburgh, setting a Louisville record for the longest in program history.
The return unit was also a strength for Louisville last year, especially with the impact that Caullin Lacy had. Lacy had two punt return touchdowns in the first three games, and had more big returns throughout the season to give Louisville a huge boost in field position. Louisville would end up leading the ACC in punt return average (16.13 YPA), and finished sixth in the conference in kick return average (22.35 YPA).
The only weak spot for Louisville was in punting, where they finished 16th in punt average (39.11 yards per punt). Louisville has finished in the bottom three of the ACC in this category each of the last three seasons.
Read more: 2026 Louisville Football Guide: Special TeamsNotable Departures
- K Cooper Ranvier (transferred to Tennessee)
- P David Chapeau (graduated)
- P Carter Schwartz (transferred to Arizona)
- LS Shai Kochav (graduated)
- WR Caullin Lacy (graduated, signed as UDFA with the New York Jets)
2026 Preview
Louisville heads into 2026 with a complete makeover in all aspects of their special teams unit.
At punter, the starting job will likely go to EKU transfer Jacob Baker. The Corbin, Ky. native spent the last two seasons as the Colonels starter at punter, averaging 43.3 yards per punt in that stretch. For context, his average last season (43.0 YPP) would have been tenth-best in the ACC last season, and almost four yards higher than what Louisville averaged as a team. He earned first-team All-UAC honors in 2024 and played in last year’s game versus Louisville, punting nine times with an average of 42.6 yards.
The kicker position figures to be a three-headed race between the returning Nick Keller and Carson Hilbert, along with newcomer Garth White. Keller will likely return as the kickoff specialist, after he had a 76% touchback rate last season (fifth-best in the ACC last season). He has a big leg and it wouldn’t be surprising if Jeff Brohm opts to put him out for field goal attempts of 55+ yards, after he hit back-to-back 57-yarders last season. Hilbert was an all-state kicker and punter in Kentucky for Trinity High School, but only saw action in one game last year. With Keller and White both on their last year of eligibility, Hilbert could compete for the starting job at kicker in 2027.
Louisville made a late move in the portal, getting a commitment from Garth White in early May. White converted 14-of-18 field goal attempts last season with Rhode Island, including a long of 54-yards. White also has experience as a punter, dating back to his JUCO season at Ventura Community College.
Louisville does have a huge loss at kick and punt returner with Caullin Lacy departing for the NFL, leaving the Cardinals without their most dynamic returner in at least a decade. But they did get a great replacement in the offseason, acquiring Tre Richardson in the transfer portal. Richardson led Vanderbilt last season in receiving yards (806) and touchdowns (seven), while also handling kickoff return duties, averaging 25 yards per return. Richardson is a fast, dynamic receiver that will get plenty of opportunities with the ball in his hands this season.
As for the punt returner spot, it could come down to transfers Jackson Voth or Brycen Scott, as both have punt return experience at the FCS level. Voth had 600 receiving yards and five touchdowns last season with Drake, in addition to 131 punt returns on 14 attempts. Scott played in a reserve role at cornerback with Elon last season, and handled punt return duties with the Phoenix for the last two seasons.
The starting job at long snapper will come down to Hayden Travelstead or Ryan Manis. Travelstead has been with the program for the last three seasons and is the younger brother of former Louisville kicker Brock Travelstead. Manis transfers in from Liberty University.
Projected Starters
- Punter: Jacob Baker (junior)
- Name to Watch: Garth White (graduate)
- Placekicker: Garth White (graduate)
- Names to Watch: Nick Keller (redshirt senior) and Carson Hilbert (redshirt freshman)
- Kickoff specialist: Nick Keller (redshirt senior)
- Kick returner: Tre Richardson (senior)
- Punt returner: Jackson Voth (junior)
- Long snapper: Hayden Travelstead (redshirt junior)
