LSU Football fans have been granted their wishes as the Tigers just finally landed their impact player at safety beating out the Miami Hurricanes for the top safety in the transfer portal AJ Haulcy. The commitment is massive for LSU as the Tigers add an impact player to the defense giving this team the experienced, playmaking safety the team has lacked the past few seasons.
The Tigers had to overcome a ton in this recruitment as LSU got AJ Haulcy on campus for a late visit but, the staff did also visit Haulcy's home before his visit to Miami. On Haulcy's visit to Miami, the Hurricanes rolled out the red carpet, driving him around the city with a police escort and taking him to dinner with rapper Rick Ross.
AJ Haulcy’s commitment marks a turning point in LSU’s Spring Transfer Portal strategy
Last spring LSU fans sat and watched as every top tier defensive tackle came off the board as LSU badly needed to add a defensive tackle. Then Brian Kelly delivered a quote where he said he's not in the market of "buying players" which made it seem as if the Tigers weren't embracing the transfer portal or NIL. The Tigers then went 9-4 in 2024 and the Tigers entire transfer portal strategy has seemingly flipped.
Brian Kelly personally donated $1 million to Bayou Traditions starting the "Million Dollar Match" which led to LSU raising $3.2 million giving the Tigers the resources needed to build a team worthy of making the College Football Playoff. The Tigers used the added resources to bring in a transfer portal haul which was the biggest of the Brian Kelly era.
This spring rather than sitting back satisfied with the additions the team made or the progress the younger players have made LSU has shown they're All-In using the spring transfer window to their advantage. The Tigers addition of Bernard Gooden was massive as it finally filled the need at defensive tackle.
Landing AJ Haulcy however, is the exclamation point on what has been an incredible change in approach using the transfer portal. The Tigers made the splash addition the fanbase wanted to see and the defense now has all the pieces in place to make a championship run. Haulcy is ranked by On3 as the 13th ranked player to transfer including the Winter transfer cycle and the 2nd ranked safety to transfer.