By Hunt Palmer
What Brian Kelly essentially referred to as a passive approach to the spring transfer portal winder actually netted two highly rated prospects.
The first was Bernard Gooden. The second and last was AJ Haulcy, safety from Houston.
That duo likely puts a bow on the 2025 LSU football roster as exams wrap this week. The freshmen who didn’t enroll early will trickle in over the next three weeks, as will the transfers from the late window.
We’ve taken a look at every transfer this far as part of our Portal Profile series. The final edition will be for Haulcy who comes to Baton Rouge carrying a load of production from the Big 12.
WHAT WE KNOW
Haulcy balled at Houston.
New LSU Safety AJ Haulcy Last Season:
🐯 80.5 PFF Grade
🐯 159 Yards Allowed
🐯 5 INTs | 6 PBUs
🐯 64.9 Passer Rating Allowed
🐯 85.5 Coverage Grade pic.twitter.com/ou5bvv4Z1t— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 5, 2025
The 6-foot, 215 pound safety started all 24 games while he was on campus. As a junior, he was the only power five player to make 10-plus solo tackles in four or more games. His 6.1 solo tackles per game were fourth in America.
He stepped his game up as a senior and was named first-team all-Big 12 by the coaches and the AP.
He tied for the conference lead with five interceptions and was second in the league with 13 passes defended. He had two interceptions against TCU and graded second on the Cougars’ roster by PFF with an 80.0 for the season.
Prior to Houston, he spent a year at New Mexico and started the final nine games of the season for the Lobos. On October 22, 2022, he made 24 tackles in a game against Fresno State. That was the most by an FCS player since Kenneth Murray of Oklahoma in 2018.
THE FIT
LSU is still searching for the right safety combination. Haulcy has played both strong and free safety, but he settled at free safety in his last year at Houston.
Jardin Gilbert returns, and he should be healthy after shoulder surgery. Then there are a host of options.
Dashawn Spears had a nice spring after failing to break into the late-season starting lineup as a freshman. Javien Toviano took a ton of reps at safety in the spring. Tamarcus Cooley can play safety or nickel. Mansoor Delane can play corner or safety. He worked at corner more often in the spring. Joel Rogers and Austin Ausberry are also options.
I think Haulcy is a starter from the day he gets to campus. I’m just not confident that any of the LSU safeties would have produced numbers like that at Houston. The Big 12 isn’t the SEC, but it’s good football.
Haulcy has played the run really well and made a ton of plays on the football.
LSU, meanwhile, has struggled mightily at safety. Only Missouri allowed more runs of over 30 yards than LSU last year. Not all of that is on the safeties, but some of it is.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
Right now, I think Gilbert and Haulcy are the leaders to be the safeties. Gilbert can play in the box a little bit more, and Haulcy can roam free and make plays. I think Spears is pushing for time, too.
Ideally, Whit Weeks, Harold Perkins and Davhon Keys are the guys making the majority of the tackles in the running game. I think Haulcy is going to be a top five tackler on the team as well.
He’s not a freak of an athlete. You wouldn’t expect that from a former three-star recruit who ended up at UTSA. But, he’s fast enough and plenty physical to play in the SEC.
LSU wasn’t just taking players to take them in the spring portal window. I think they’ve added a starter here who will make 65-plus tackles and get his hands on a couple of interceptions.
