LSU Football Officially Signs Coveted South Florida Defensive Line Transfer

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers have officially signed South Florida defensive lineman Bernard Gooden after committing to the program on Saturday.

Gooden, the No. 1 available player in the NCAA Transfer Portal upon pledging to LSU, will join the program for the 2025 season.

An All-AAC Honorable Mention selection in 2024, Gooden logged 35 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks during the 2024 season with the Bulls.

The 6-foot-1, 280-pounder out of Montgomery (Ala.) is the fifth defensive line transfer LSU has reeled in this offseason.

Gooden will join the trio of EDGE transfers in Patrick Payton [Florida State], Jack Pyburn [Florida] and Jimari Butler [Nebraska] along with defensive tackle Sydir Mitchell [Texas].

The Path to the Boot

Transfer defensive lineman Bernard Gooden is officially a Tiger! pic.twitter.com/v2NxOwqg4M
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) April 28, 2025

Kelly and Co. have been "intentional" in the additions made, specifically to the defensive tackle room with Gooden joining Mitchell inside.

"[Mitchell] was brought here to bring size to our defense. He certainly brings that size. Shone Washington is playing at a higher level. His size is clear in terms of what he brings. Obviously, McKinley has got the great size that you're looking for inside as well. Then it's just a matter of getting reps for some of the younger players," Kelly said during Spring Camp.

"Zion's just got to get more work and build a higher work volume. But we've definitely increased our depth. We've increased our size. Jacobian is going to be back for us. That gives us another very physically strong player that will fit this scheme very well because of his quickness.

"He's going to be a guy that's going to be in the backfield a lot. With Ahmad we feel really, really good about where we're at at the defensive tackle position."

It's an impactful addition for the Tigers with rising-sophmores Dominick McKinley and Ahmad Breaux handling a majority of first-team reps during camp, but with Gooden and others in the mix, it provides additional depth moving forward.

LSU will open the 2025 season at Clemson in Week 1 to begin a critical run for Kelly and the Bayou Bengals.

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