New school, new number, same question — and Lincoln Kienholz's early answer at Louisville is No.191 4★, national recruit.
6′2″ · 215 lb · Pierre, SD · T.F. Riggs
The numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far
The play that turned itSwung Louisville from 35% to 87% to win.Louisville at Ole Miss · 41-38
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior quarterback for Louisville. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
Buzz vs Tape
Every angle we can check here reads about where you'd expect this season.
Also checked out fine:
“I think we are playoff contenders. But that will also depend on how Lincoln Kienholz looks. In Brohm we trust.”
Lincoln Kienholz
Lincoln Kienholz arrives at Louisville with a new fit to prove and an old chapter behind him.
4★ · NATIONAL RECRUIT
No.191
recruiting national rank
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
Career arc
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Jeff Brohm.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Louisville
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Louisville | 48 | 73 | 65.8% | 816 | 11.2 | 6 | 0 | 186.8 | 77 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Ohio State | 11 | 14 | 78.6% | 139 | 9.9 | 1 | 0 | 185.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 10 | 22 | 45.5% | 111 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 87.8 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 69 | 109 | 63.3% | 1,066 | 9.8 | 7 | 0 | 166.6 | 77 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Louisville | 32 | 153 | 4.8 | 4 | -- |
| 2025 | Ohio State | 11 | 66 | 6.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 6 | 2 | 0.3 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 49 | 221 | 4.5 | 6 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 38-41@ Ole Miss | 18/29 | 307 | 2 | 0 | 10.6 | 94.8 | Clean 2-TD game |
| Wk 2 | W 59-13vs Villanova | 16/21 | 332 | 2 | 0 | 15.8 | 93.7 | Season-high 332 yds |
| Wk 3 | W 41-31vs SMU | 14/23 | 177 | 2 | 0 | 7.7 | 64.8 | |
| Total | 48/73 | 816 | 6 | 0 | 11.4 | 84.4 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 41–31
vs SMU
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +177 passing yards, +2 passing TD.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: yards / att (98th percentile). Strength: rush tds (98th percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
12.074 of 126 QBsSack rate
3.9%52 of 126 QBsRarely sacked (52 of 126 QBs) and still 4 of 126 in Adjusted ANY/A.
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 64.9% completion on 74 attempts · 60% completion on 10 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 77 dropbacks77Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
51.7%90th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -2.8% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
10.60100th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · -0.8 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
4.1%75th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · +0.2% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (0 of 77 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 254 | 2.0 | 11.8 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 307 | 2.0 | 10.6 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 272 | 2.0 | 11.4 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Brohm
Pass share
42.0%
79 pass / 109 run
Plays / game
62.7
3 games
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Our Heisman model has him inside the top 25; he is not on a published award watch list yet.
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #7 — top-10 conversation.
2025 (Ohio State): Named Academic All-Big Ten Conference ...competed for Ohio State's starting quarterback duties throughout the spring and fall camps in 2025 ...appeared in seven contests ... completed 11-of-14 passes for 139 yards and one touchdown ... rushed for 66 yards in 2025 and scored…