Ohio State transfer QB Lincoln Kienholz has committed to Louisville
Louisville has picked up a transfer portal commitment from former Ohio State quarterback Lincoln Kienholz.
In three years of college football, Kienholz has appeared in 10 games, and he enters his junior season with two years of eligibility remaining.
Originally from Pierre, South Dakota, Kienholz was a three-sport athlete at T.F. Riggs High School. He threw for over 9,000 yards and 100 touchdowns in his high school career, including 3,422 yards and 46 touchdowns in his senior season. Holding the record for most passing yards in South Dakota high school football history, Kienholz was ranked as the 119th player and 10th overall quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class. He chose Ohio State over offers from Wisconsin, Washington, Kansas State, Illinois, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota.
Kienholz redshirted his first year in Columbus, seeing action in only three games behind future NFL draft pick Kyle McCord. Seeing his first true career reps, Kienholz completed 6 of 17 passing attempts for 86 yards in the Buckeyes’ 14-3 loss against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
During Ohio State’s dominant 2024 national championship campaign, Kienholz didn’t see the field once. He sat for a second consecutive season, this time behind 6th-round draft pick Will Howard.
This past summer was the first real opportunity for Kienholz to break his way into the depth chart—a back-and-forth battle at quarterback ended with sophomore Julian Sayin winning the starting job. Kienholz saw limited minutes in seven games played in 2025, completing 11 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. He also added 11 carries for 66 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In the limited snaps Kienholz saw, he showed flashes of potential.
The 6-foot-2 and 215-pound signal caller is currently ranked as the 118th player in the transfer portal and 16th overall quarterback. His athletic background and high upside arm accuracy make Kienholz an intriguing prospect who never truly got his shot at Ohio State.
This will be the fourth year in a row that head coach Jeff Brohm takes a quarterback out of the portal. Following in the footsteps of Jack Plummer, Tyler Shough, and Miller Moss, Kienholz will be the most inexperienced one yet. Incoming freshman Briggs Cherry is Louisville’s only other quarterback on the roster after Brady Allen and Deuce Adams hit the portal, and the graduation of Moss.
Louisville’s Jeff Brohm was looking for a player with some upside, and he may have it in Kienholz. It’ll be interesting to see what Kienholz can do with a new opportunity.
