LSU Football Transfer Safety Locking Down Starting Role for Tigers in Fall Camp

Brian Kelly and Co. reeled in a pair of transfer safeties, both newcomers making plays in August.

Courtesy of AJ Haulcy's Instagram.

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers attacked the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason with multiple immediate impact additions making their way to Baton Rouge.

After a dominant stretch across the winter window, Kelly and Co. were selective in the spring after signing only two newcomers via the free agent market.

Houston safety A.J. Haulcy put pen to paper with the Bayou Bengals after making things official following Spring Camp.

LSU had a need at safety this offseason with the program addressing the roster concerns after bringing in both Haulcy and North Carolina State transfer Tamarcus Cooley.

Now, Haulcy continues turning heads in Baton Rouge with a strong Fall Camp performance across the first 12 days of practice.

The former Houston Cougar is coming off of a strong 2024 campaign where he became a highly-touted transfer once in the portal.

Courtesy of A.J. Haulcy's Instagram.

The 6-foot, 215-pounder totaled 74 tackles, five interceptions and 13 pass breakups during the 2024 season with the Cougars on his way to First Team All-Big 12 honors.

Fast forward to Fall Camp this month and Haulcy has locked down a starting safety spot for the Tigers, as seen in practice.

Haulcy has taken first-team run alongside Cooley with the pair of newcomers upgrading the safety room signifciantly since the 2024 season.

Haulcy and Cooley can virtually be penciled in as the starters heading into Week 1 at Clemson with second-year Tiger Dashawn Spears also expected to receive significant run in 2025.

"Game experience and football knowledge. Those are the two things. And we didn't move off of those. Everybody that we evaluated, it was if they don't have those two criteria, we can't even begin this process. So they have to have snaps, real-life snaps," Kelly said of Haulcy and Cooley.

"They have to be smart football players. We're not going to go in here and teach you the nuances of the game. We're past that. They both have those qualities and they have athletic ability. What are we getting? Smart, savvy, physical players that have played a lot of college football."

During the spring window of the Transfer Portal, Haulcy and South Florida transfer Bernard Gooden were the pair of newcomers the LSU Tigers signed.

Haulcy has certainly turned heads in Fall Camp, but Gooden has emerged as the biggest winner across the last two weeks in Baton Rouge.

Courtesy of Bernard Gooden's Instagram.

Blake Baker's Take: Gooden Shining in Camp

"I love it. That was a great pickup. Bernard Gooden has been a joy in every sense of the word to coach. He is high energy; you all probably hear him more than anyone on the field. In today's game, you even look in the NFL, a lot of really, really successful defensive tackles are going to be between 280 and 305 pounds," Baker said.

"The thing that he does really well, because he is so twitchy and has such good get-off, is that his second foot is in the ground before the offensive lineman.

"So even though he might be giving up 30 pounds, he's able to get leverage and get power, and the offensive lineman doesn't have his second foot in the ground.

"One of the things that we did through the evaluation process, obviously being an undersized guy, is really evaluate him hard against the run, and we really liked what we saw and we really like what we see up to this point. He's done a great job creating havoc and holding point."

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