Over the last two or three years our Louisville Cardinals have had their fair share of success in both of the major sports programs basketball and football. That success came from the hard work and dedication of groups of players who cared enough to give their very best and decided that they would play a significant role in those programs.

In 2014 Louisville Basketball said good-bye to its winningest senior class in school history. And just this past season the Louisville football program said good-bye to one of the winningest senior classes in all of college football. Losing all of those great seniors to graduation and some great players to early entry can put teams into a transition period.

With the recent losses on their respective teams and the change of the landscape both Coach Pitino and Coach Petrino had to get creative so that they could keep their programs competing at a high level. This season they will rely heavily on transfers and we could see a few of those transfers having the biggest impact on the Cardinals Basketball and Football seasons.

I use transition period because I know how much Cardinal fans despise the phrase “Bridge Year”. That became a topic of great debate several years ago when Coach Pitino uttered those words. With the loss of Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier to early entry and having one of his youngest groups in recent memory Coach Pitino finds himself right in the middle of a transition period.

He has a couple of the 2015 guys that will be able to contribute immediately but still he knew he was going to need more than that in what will be another brutal year in the ACC. Coach Pitino isn’t a big fan of the one and done system, but he just might be a big beneficiary of the done and one system.

During the off season Coach Pitino took full advantage of the graduate transfer rule and landed two of the best in the country in Trey Lewis and Damion Lee. These guys will bring some much needed sharp shooting and scoring and will provide some much needed maturity to the young 2015-16 group.

I know there will be chemistry issues and a learning curve for these guys joining the team for just one year, but that trip to Puerto Rico on August 10-17, along with the 10 days of practice before will go a long way. Not only do I think these two transfers could have the biggest impact on the Cardinals basketball season I think they could be the difference in a title run or not.

While two transfers make their impact on the Louisville Basketball program there will be several who will make their mark on the Louisville Football program. Not only has Coach Petrino been task with completely restocking his team with guys who fit into his system he is also replacing 10 NFL draft picks from last season.

Coach Petrino and his staff have done a great job at beating the bush to find some Juco guys that will be able to come in and fill some of those roles and to add depth. They have also done a great job at finding guys who didn’t work out for other D1 programs and that are looking to make a fresh start with another. The program has got some criticism for giving kids a second chance but it really is a win/win in my opinion.

Out of the Juco guys I think Khalil Hunter, Alphonso Carter, Kiola Mahoni, and Cole Hikutini could make the biggest impacts on the season. These guys should be able to step in and play some meaningful minutes.

This next group of guys will be coming into the 2015 football season hungry and ready to compete again at the highest level after having to sit out a year of big-time football. Coach Petrino has to be creative to keep Louisville on the path of a National Title contender and these guys will not only help Louisville do that but will also help them maintain the level of success Cardinal Fans have grown accustomed to over the last few years. Shaq Wiggins, Jaquay Savage, Josh Harvey-Clemons, and Devonte Fields will be huge for the Cardinals. He didn’t have to sit out for a year but UAB transfer Jamari Staples will also want to show what he can do against some of those great ACC defenses.