Louisville football spring game 2026, takeaways from UofL scrimmage

Louisville football wrapped up its spring season with the offense pocketing a 43-24 win on Friday evening at L&N Stadium. 

After the offense built a 20-6 lead, the Cardinals’ defense had four consecutive stops, which included a sack from defensive lineman Tyler Thompson and third-down stop from fellow defensive lineman Jerod Smith to make it 20-15. The third-team defensive unit then drew within two during the third quarter after back-to-back stops for the 26-24 score. 

But quarterback Ryan Zimmerman engineered two touchdown drives in the final minute of the game to keep the defense at bay for the victory. 

Here are three takeaways from the annual red-white game: 

Isaac Brown is not alone in running backs room 

Former Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was in town on Friday, serving as the guest speaker for the Kentucky Derby Festival They’re Off! Luncheon. Though he couldn’t stay for his former team’s spring game, he praised running back Isaac Brown, another Floridian, noting his loyalty to the Cardinals. 

“He’s outstanding,” Bridgewater said of Brown. “I had a chance to watch him in high school and he was a standout then. ... I'm pretty sure he had the opportunity to go to any school he wanted to after the last two seasons he had and he chose to stay here. That just means a lot to me because in a time where you see everyone just jumping ship, going here, chasing money, doing that, you rarely see loyalty. So that says a lot about him.” 

Brown will be a crucial part of Louisville’s offense, but he won’t have to carry the load alone. The Cardinals will have another deep group of running backs that’s a good mix of returners and newcomers. Freshmen Lekhy Thompkins and Braxton Jennings, who was put on scholarship during the offseason, took most of the running back reps during the game. Jennings had an 11-yard run and followed it up with a 1-yard touchdown on the next play to give the offense an early 14-3 lead in the first quarter. 

Kicking inconsistency is an early concern 

Last year, Nick Keller and Cooper Ranvier combined to go 23-for-29 on field goals, which included going 13-for-13 on field goals between 20 and 39 yards.  

Ranvier transferred after the season, leaving Keller as the most experienced returning kicker. He and Carson Hilbert took turns with field goals during the game but didn’t fare as well as hoped. 

Hilbert had a 40-yard field goal while Keller hit a 43-yarder, but the two then missed from 43 and 32 yards out, respectively, during consecutive series. There were also some miscues on punts that resulted in the squad having to redo a couple of kicks.

Hilbert was up-and-down in the fourth quarter and had a 41-yard field goal but missed a 40-yarder a few minutes later. 

Davin Wydner impresses from the backup spot 

Quarterback Davin Wydner stood out with two touchdown passes in the first half. The West Georgia transfer played about six series in the first two quarters and had 146 yards on 8-for-10 passing. Gavin Waddell was one of the primary targets and had the first touchdown of the game on a 77-yard reception. The freshman led the team with 108 yards on three catches in the first half. 

Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football spring game 2026, stars on UofL Cardinals roster