Louisville adds Houston transfer DL Joshua Donald
Louisville strengthens its defensive line with a commitment from Houston transfer Joshua Donald.
After a few stops in his collegiate career, Donald has settled on Louisville. Originally from Durham, North Carolina, he played at Jordan High School before committing to Southern University. Spending two years at Southern, he appeared in 15 games, collecting 17 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks.
Donald hit the transfer portal following the 2023 season. He originally spent the spring practices with Troy before hitting the portal again. Landing at Appalachian State, Donald had a solid junior season with the Mountaineers. He finished 2024 with 32 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble. Showing promise at the interior defensive line position, Donald was credited with 11 quarterback pressures and 16 stops according to PFF.
Entering the portal again, he enrolled at Houston in January of 2025. Donald didn’t see action in any game during the 2025 season and left the program with three games left in the season. Spending less than a year with the Cougars program, he entered the portal for a fourth time.
Standing at 6 feet 1 and 320 pounds, Donald brings a lot of size to the defensive line. Louisville has reloaded on the interior of its line, securing commitments from Miami transfer Daylen Russell, Purdue transfer Demeco Kennedy, and Eastern Kentucky transfer Tommy Ziesmer. Louisville made it a priority to add size in the trenches. Donald is the largest one of them all and will be utilized to plug holes in the run game. With 26 career games under his belt, this is a great veteran addition to a youthful position group.
Donald is currently ranked inside the top 2,000 players in the transfer portal and is 201st at his position. The Cardinals are up to 27 portal pickups and have the 4th-ranked class in the country.
