Former Columbia Wildcat KJ Cloyd announced on social media Dec. 1 that he's elected to enter the transfer portal as a graduate transfer, and he will not be competing with the Cardinals in their upcoming bowl game.
"I want to thank Coach Satterfield and the entire Louisville staff for the opportunity to play at the University of Louisville," Cloyd wrote in a post on Twitter. "I will forever cherish the time here with my teammates and the loving fans, but I have decided to enter the transfer portal as a Graduate Transfer. Much love to the Cardinal nation. #23 out."
The 6-foot-2, 229-pound linebacker played in all 12 of Louisville's games this season but did not have a consistent role on the defense. Out of the 826 total defensive snaps for the Cardinals, Cloyd played only 140 them, with the games against USF and Wake Forest being the only times he played more than 20 snaps. He finished the year with 15 tackles (nine solo), two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.
Cloyd, who played in all 12 games this season, originally joined Louisville in 2020 as the No. 1 JUCO linebacker in the nation from Jones College, where he collected 46 tackles (16 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble. He finished his Cardinals career with 40 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, two pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, and one fumble recovery through 36 games and one start against Virginia in 2021.
