The transfer portal is closed, but could the Louisville Cardinals receive an unexpected boost before the season to replace wide receiver Caullin Lacy? It’s not a done deal, but there’s a strong chance the Cardinals could have an immediate Lacy replacement, one who is quite familiar with Louisville’s program.
Latest Ahmari Huggins-Bruce Transfer Portal Rumors
Dillon, S.C., native Ahmari Huggins-Bruce spent the first three seasons of his career at Lousiville, where he caught 75 passes for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in his time with the Cardinals.
But when Huggins-Bruce entered the transfer portal on Dec. 29 last year, he quickly chose the hometown Gamecocks on Jan. 4.
However, sources close to the team have reported that Huggins-Bruce has been absent from practice since Saturday’s closed-doors scrimmage, and rumors are swirling about why.
Here’s what we do know: Huggins-Bruce was one of five wide receiver transfers into South Carolina, as the Gamecocks looked to rejuvenate the wide receiver room. Four of those transfers, including Huggins-Bruce, operated primarily out of the slot last season.
Coastal Carolina transfer Jared Brown and Miami (OH) transfer Gage Larvadain led their respective teams in receiving primarily as slot receivers, but the Gamecocks have moved both outside, according to sources within the program and observations during the open period of practices.
Those players seem to have been moved due to the unexpected breakouts of redshirt freshman Vandrevius Jacobs (a Florida State transfer) and true freshman Mazeo Bennett Jr., a one-time Tennessee commit who flipped to South Carolina and enrolled in the spring.
While neither was expected to have big impacts as newcomers at the time of their commitments, each has seemingly increased their stock enough to challenge for a starting role in the offense. Simply put, Jacobs and Bennett have thrown a wrench in what fans, and perhaps the coaches, expected the South Carolina receiver rotation to look like.
It looks like Huggins-Bruce might be on the outside looking in as it stands, and he may have fallen as far as the seventh or eighth receiver on the depth chart. After transferring home to play for the local Gamecocks in a seemingly wide-open depth chart, Huggins-Bruce (who played significant snaps as a true freshman) finds himself in unfamiliar territory.
What Happened to Caullin Lacy?
From Louisville’s perspective, a reunion could make sense. The Cardinals landed former South Alabama receiver Caullin Lacy early in the first transfer window, one of the top slot receivers in the country a season ago. He was expected to take a huge chunk of Huggins-Bruce’s snaps as a one-for-one swap.
Now, however, Lacy is out for “an extended period of time” after suffering a broken collarbone in the final practice of the fall, according to head coach Jeff Brohm.
The Cardinals are thin behind Lacy, but there are typically no reinforcements waiting in the wings this time of year. Even if there were, it would take weeks for any newcomer to get acclimated to a new system and learn the playbook.
If there were somehow a way to get a proven playmaker who plays the exact same position as Lacy and also knows the playbook, Louisville would take him in a heartbeat.
Enter Huggins-Bruce. Typically players are not allowed to transfer outside of official NCAA transfer portal windows. However, it’s possible an exception could be made if Huggins-Bruce walks on. His credits would transfer, given that they mostly came from Louisville anyway.
At this point, a reunion makes plenty of football sense. Sources indicate the initial parting in December was amiable and Huggins-Bruce would be welcomed back with open arms if a transfer can feasibly happen.
If it does, it could be the first situation of its kind and would open the door for other interesting walk-on scenarios. Nothing is set in stone, but College Football Network will be ready if something materializes.
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