The breakdown of the 2026 Louisville football roster continues this week, with the focus now shifting towards a review of the defensive line.
In case you missed it, check out our previous breakdowns of the special teams unit, as well as the secondary and linebacker groups.
2025 Rewind
Louisville had 31 sacks and 77 tackles for loss in 2025, a slight decrease from 2024’s totals of 34 sacks and 87 tackles for loss, respectively. However, the Cardinals defensive line was still impactful in several games last season.
Clev Lubin led the team in both sacks (8.5) and TFLs (13.5), and earned Third Team All-ACC honors. Rene Konga led the team in PBUs (six) and had five TFLs, earning himself Second Team All-ACC honors. Louisville also got great production from their weakside edge rushers; Wesley Bailey had six sacks and AJ Green had four as a reserve, including three in the last five games.
The Cardinals were also solid against the run, allowing just 114.3 yards per game on the ground (sixth in ACC, 23rd nationally).
Read more: 2026 Louisville Football Guide: Defensive LineNotable Departures
- DT Jordan Guerad (graduated)
- DT Rene Konga (graduated)
- DT Denzel Lowry (graduated)
- DT Jerry Lawson (transferred to Oklahoma State)
- DE CJ May (transferred to Missouri)
- DL Selah Brown (transferred to Bowling Green)
- DE Justin Beadles (transferred to California)
Additionally, defensive line coach Mark Hagen has left to take the same position at Oregon State. Co-defensive coordinator Mark Ivey slides back to defensive line coach after spending the previous three seasons as the linebacker coach under head coach Jeff Brohm. Ivey served previously as Louisville’s defensive line coach during the Scott Satterfield era (2019-22), where he took a unit that went from having just 21 sacks in 11 games in 2020, to leading the nation in 2022 with 50 sacks.
2026 Preview
Despite losing two top interior defensive linemen to graduation (along with a top high school recruit at EDGE), Louisville is positioned to have one of the best front fours in the ACC, and could be a contender to be among the best in college football.
Mark Ivey has an energy and intensity level that — as Bobby “The Brain” Heenan once coined in his WWF commentary days — could be best described as something that makes coffee nervous. That same energy could be said about edge rusher Clev Lubin, who returns for his senior season. Lubin is a relentless edge rusher with a high motor and a strong first step, all of which make him one of college football’s top edge rushers heading into 2026. Not only is Lubin a strong candidate for All-ACC honors once again, there is a scenario where an improvement in his production could make him an All-American candidate.
Louisville’s ability to get production from the weak side defensive end spot went under the radar last year, but it was effective with Wesley Bailey and AJ Green being solid players. AJ Green also returns, giving Louisville an easy potential breakout candidate for the 2026 season. Green came on late season as a productive defensive end, and he is a huge player off the edge at 6’6″ and 260 pounds. He’s shown a variety of moves off the edge and with Lubin as the strong-side edge rusher, could make blocking assignments very difficult for opposing tackles.
Additionally, Louisville brought in two players from the portal in Tyler Thompson (North Carolina) and Jerod Smith II (Kentucky) to bolster depth. Thompson was one of the most productive players on UNC’s roster last season, logging seven sacks (second on the team and T-8th in ACC) and a team-high two forced fumbles. Thompson has the ability to play as either LEO or weakside defensive end, giving Louisville some potentially unique pass rusher combinations (Lubin / Thompson, Lubin / Green, or even Green / Thompson). Jerod Smith joined his brother, Jacob, in transferring from rival Kentucky to Louisville. Both Smith brothers were four-star prospects in the state of Kentucky, with Jerod Smith logging five TFLs last season. Smith is poised for a bigger role this season on the two-deep depth chart, and would likely fit better as a 4-2-5 / 4-3 weakside edge rusher.
With Louisville losing Rene Konga and Jordan Guerad as starting defensive tackles, along with two key reserves in Jerry Lawson and Denzel Lowry, the Cardinals enter 2026 with a brand new rotation inside. The staff added a couple of Power Four transfers with Demeco Kennedy (Purdue) and Daylen Russell (Miami) coming to Louisville as starters that will be stepping into bigger roles from last season. Kennedy started in four games (played all 12) and had three TFLs, with Russell playing in five games for the Hurricanes.
Joshua Donald also arrives this season after not seeing action last season at Houston. Donald does have experience as a former starter at the FBS level, starting ten games at nose tackle for Appalachian State in 2024 (5.5 TFLs, three sacks, one forced fumble).
Louisville is also poised to see more of their younger talent get into the rotation, including Micah Carter, Eric Hazzard, and Bailey Abercrombie. Carter and Hazzard played sporadically last season, with Hazzard primarily seeing reps on special teams. Carter has great size and the physical tools to be a starter at the Power Four level, it’s possible we could see him crack into the two-deep rotation at points and even be a starter in 2027 with the right circumstances. Abercrombie redshirted last season, but was a three-star recruit in the 2025 recruiting class
Projected Starters: Clev Lubin (EDGE), Demeco Kennedy (NT) Daylen Russell (DT), Tyler Thompson (WDE)
Key Reserves: Jerod Smith II (WDE), Micah Carter (DE), Eric Hazzard (DE), Joshua Donald (DT), Bailey Abercrombie (DT)
