LSU Football Loses First-Team All-American Defensive Weapon Before Texas Bowl

The Bayou Bengals will be without a standout safety in the season finale, clash against the Houston Cougars locked in.

Nov 29, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Louisiana State Tigers defensive back A.J. Haulcy (13) and Louisiana State Tigers safety Tamarcus Cooley (0) react during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

LSU Tigers safety A.J. Haulcy has officially declared for the 2026 NFL Draft and will opt out of the program's Texas Bowl matchup against the Houston Cougars, he revealed via social media on Thursday.

Haulcy is fresh off of his lone season in Baton Rouge after dominating with the Bayou Bengals on his way to First-Team All-America honors.

This past season, Haulcy logged 89 tackles, four pass deflections, three interceptions, and one forced fumble for the Tigers where he was then named a First Team All-American and a First-Team All-SEC selection.

Haulcy began his career at New Mexico for his freshman year prior to spending his sophomore and junior campaigns with the Houston Cougars - blossoming into one of the Big 12's top defensive backs.

After a strong junior season, Haulcy then elected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal last spring as one of the top safeties available with the LSU Tigers beating out Miami down the stretch for his services.

BREAKING: LSU standout safety AJ Haulcy has declared for the NFL Draft, he tells @On3Sports

In his college career he’s totaled 346 tackles, 17 PD, 10 INT, and 4 FF

Was named a 1st Team All-American this seasonhttps://t.co/NNKHeF3EZi pic.twitter.com/3DHvqiLoM3

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 25, 2025

Across four seasons on the college scene, Haulcy compiled 346 tackles, 17 pass deflections, 10 interceptions, and four forced fumbles where he's seen his status quickly rise.

Now, he's set to be a coveted safety in the 2026 NFL Draft with experts predicting Haulcy to be one of the top prospects at his position to be taken off the board.

Along with Haulcy, LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane will hear his name called early in the NFL Draft this upcoming spring.

Delane is fresh off of his lone season in the Bayou State where he catapulted his status to a projected first-round 2026 NFL Draft selection - becoming a unanimous First-Team All-American.

In his only season with the program after transferring from Virginia Tech, Delane made an immediate impact on the LSU defense, helping the Tigers led the SEC and rank No. 13 nationally in pass efficiency. The Tigers also led the SEC in interceptions (17), passes defended (67) and pass breakups (50).

Courtesy of LSU Tigers Football.

LSU was also the only team in the SEC to have more interceptions than touchdown passes allowed as the Tigers gave up only 10 passing touchdowns all season. The 10 passing touchdowns allowed are the fewest for an LSU defense since yielding nine in 2016.

Now, LSU will be without Haulcy and Delane in Saturday's Texas Bowl matchup against the Houston Cougars.

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