University of Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm already had a relationship with running back Peny Boone.

A native of Detroit, Mich., Boone was recruited by Brohm when he was at Purdue. Boone opted to go to Maryland, spent two seasons in that program before transferring to Toledo. In two years with Toledo, Boone became one of the nation's top running backs and honored as MAC Offensive Player of the Year.

So, when Boone put his name into the transfer portal Brohm knew he wanted to reach out.

The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Boone had a ton of interest from schools all over the country, narrowed his list to U of L, Kentucky, and Florida State and then after a visit to campus announced his commitment to the Cardinals in early January. He enrolled in classes last month at Louisville.

"He's a big physical back," Brohm said this week about Boone. "He's had an interesting path as well, we recruited him from Michigan when I was at Purdue. He went to Maryland, maybe he didn't play as well as he would like or get the action he would like as much and then went to Toledo and played well.

"So I think now he wants to come back and prove that he can play against great competition a high level so once again. . . . We we're wanting a guy that's hungry and wants to prove his worth and wants to utilize this spring and this summer and fall to get himself in the best shape that he possibly can to go out there and perform against great competition."

Louisville also added Miami transfer running back Donald Chaney Jr., while Maurice Turner and Keyjuan Brown are returning players off the roster at U of L in the backfield. True freshmen Isaac Brown and Duke Watson are also joining the roster.

Brohm said he's talked with Boone about his transition back to the Power 5 level.

"I think he understands he's got to get in great shape," Brohm said. "And right now through workouts he's done a good job but we want to get him in better shape that he can go out there before him each and every week and stay healthy. But he definitely has a big strong physical back that we feel adds great value to our team."

Boone, the 2023 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, is rated as the No. 5 transfer running back and the No. 76 overall target in the portal.

In his first season with the Rockets, Boone ran for 443 yards and three touchdowns. Earning the opportunity to start in 2023, Boone became one of the nation’s top backs.

Helping Toledo to an 11-3 finish, Boone was eighth nationally with 1,400 rushing yards while reaching the end zone 15 times. His 7.2 yards per carry average is seventh best in the nation. As noted by Chris Hummer, Boone was productive after contact. He averaged 4.26 yards per carry after contact this season, according to PFF, which ranked fourth nationally among backs with at least 150 carries. Boone’s six runs of 40-plus yards or more also ranked fourth nationally.

A product of Detroit, Mich., Boone was rated as the nation’s No. 26 running back as a senior at Martin Luther King High School. He rushed for 1,282 yards on 129 carries and 22 touchdowns in 2019.

In 2023, the U of L offense produced a pair of highly productive backs, with Jawhar Jordan rushing for 1,128 yards and Isaac Guerendo going for 810 yards. Both declared for the NFL draft.