No. 2 Rated Transfer Safety, LSU Football Signee Begins Spring Workouts

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers signed the No. 2 rated safety in the NCAA Transfer Portal in January after North Carolina State's Tamarcus Cooley made the move to Baton Rouge.

The highest-rated defensive player on the North Carolina State squad in 2024, Cooley departed Raleigh after logging 30 tackles, nine passes broken, three interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles last season.

Cooley spent his first season with the Maryland Terrapins in 2023 prior to heading to North Carolina State in 2024.

He immediately caught the eye of head coach Dave Doeren midway through the season as a key contributor as a redshirt-freshman.

"He played really well in a lot of ways," Doeren said of the redshirt-freshman safety. "In the box, setting edges, fitting in the run. Then in coverage he had number of pass breakups. He had the big interception at the end of the game. He did a good job fitting a lot of formations and surface areas. There's a lot going on there communication-wise on motions. For a young guy to have to manage all that, it was impressive."

Cooley took visits to Ole Miss, LSU and Kentucky earlier this month with the Tigers ultimately locking down the coveted ACC transfer during his visit to Baton Rouge.

It's no secret the LSU program was need need of more competition in the defensive backfield after losing multiple safeties this offseason including starters Sage Ryan and Major Burns.

With the cornerback room restocked and ready for the 2025 season, attention shifted to the safety room with targets emerging via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Cooley and others became priorities with the North Carolina State standout sitting atop the program's board.

Now, Cooley enters the mix with LSU adding the No. 2 overall safety in the NCAA Transfer Portal.

He's arrived in Baton Rouge and has begun doing spring workouts with the program with the Tigers gearing up for camp in the next six weeks.

#LSU signed the No. 2 rated safety in the Transfer Portal earlier this month: Tamarcus Cooley.

The coveted ACC transfer has begun going through spring workouts with the program after getting to Baton Rouge.

The 5-11, 205-pounder headlines a new-look defensive backfield in 2025. pic.twitter.com/Ms7Xeo0soy
— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) January 24, 2025

It's a monstrous get for the program with LSU addressing seemingly every need during the winter portal window. The final piece was adding two safeties, and with one down, attention could shift to another during the spring window.

Kelly and Co. hold America's No. 1 Transfer Portal Class with 16 additions to this point:

Who have the Tigers gained commitments from?

The Additions on Offense (8):
- TE Bauer Sharp: Oklahoma
- WR Barion Brown: Kentucky
- QB Michael Van Buren: Mississippi State
- WR Destyn Hill: Florida State
- WR Nic Anderson: Oklahoma
- OL Braelin Moore: Virginia Tech
- OL Josh Thompson: Northwestern
- TE Donovan Green: Texas A&M

The Additions on Defense (7):
- CB Ja'Keem Jackson: Florida
- EDGE Jimari Butler: Nebraska
- EDGE Jack Pyburn: Florida
- CB Mansoor Delane: Virginia Tech
- DL Sydir Mitchell: Texas
- EDGE Patrick Payton: Florida State
- S Tamarcus Cooley: North Carolina State

The Special Teams Additions (1):
Punter Grant Chadwick: Middle Tennessee

More LSU News:

LSU Adds Commitments From Seven Top-100 Transfers in the Portal

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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