Quarterback Luke McCaffrey is re-entering the transfer portal just months after he decided to leave Nebraska for Louisville, Cardinals coach Scott Satterfield announced Wednesday.
"Luke (McCaffrey) came in last week and decided that this wasn't the place for him," Satterfield said. "He wanted to come in and be a starting quarterback."
McCaffrey, the younger brother of Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey and son of former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, entered the transfer portal in January and then announced in February he was committing to Louisville.
"Excited to continue my athletic and academic career at the University of Louisville. Go Cardinals!" he said in a Twitter post alongside a picture of himself in a Louisville jersey.
In seven games for the Cornhuskers in 2020, two of which he started as a redshirt freshman, McCaffrey passed for 466 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions. He also ran for 364 yards and three touchdowns, including 122 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Illinois. Nebraska finished the season 3-5 and fifth in the Big Ten West.
McCaffrey was a four-star recruit out of high school and the No. 1 player in Colorado in the Class of 2019, per the 247Sports Composite Rating. He originally chose Nebraska over Duke, Virginia, Ohio State, Michigan, Colorado, Washington and Ole Miss.
Louisville will return last year's starter Malik Cunningham, who threw for 2,617 yards and 20 touchdowns last season, and backup Evan Conley, who has played in nine games over two seasons. The Cardinals went 3-7 and finished 12th in the ACC last year.
"McCaffrey's big thing that he wanted to do was come in and play and be a starting quarterback, and I guess after three or four days decided that maybe wasn't going to happen here," Satterfield said. " Not sure what he's going to do, but he's a good player, good person. Malik and Evan Conley, they've got such a strong presence on this team."
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How unusual is this situation?
Mitch Sherman, Nebraska beat writer: McCaffrey started two games in 2020 at Nebraska before Adrian Martinez retook the QB position. The choice in January of the former four-star signee to transfer from Lincoln came as no surprise, but this development was a shocker.
He spent minimal time at Louisville and was not on campus for spring practice.
First, questions must be answered about his eligibility. Despite not playing for the Cardinals, did he use the one-time waiver that grants student-athletes immediate eligibility upon transferring?
McCaffrey will ultimately find a fit in a system that values an athletic QB who can work as a running threat. His father, former Pro Bowler Ed McCaffrey, is the head coach at Northern Colorado. Luke’s older brother, former Michigan QB Dylan McCaffrey, transferred to play for their dad this year.
(Photo: Jamie Sabau / Getty Images)