The LSU Football team has made a massive splash landing Houston starting safety AJ Haulcy in a heated transfer battle. The Tigers had to beat out Miami who got AJ Haulcy on campus for a visit and has his former defensive backs coach on staff along with Ole Miss who seemingly fell out of the race early on. The win proves once again that Brian Kelly and the staff have changed their approach on recruiting and are willing and able to win battles where NIL is a factor.
The addition gives LSU the elite playmaking safety the fanbase has been begging for the past few seasons. On3 ranks AJ Haulcy as the 13th ranked player to enter the transfer portal between the Winter and Spring making Haulcy the top transfer LSU added this offseason.
AJ Haulcy's arrival reshapes LSU’s safety room and alters the depth chart
This season at Houston, Haulcy racked up 74 tackles which was second on the team, 5 interceptions which was tied for the most in the Big 12, and 13 passes defended which ranked 2nd in the Big 12. Pro Football Focus gave Haulcy an 80.0 overall grade, an 85.8 cover grade, and a 73.5 run defense grade.
The grades match what the film shows as AJ Haulcy will likely play deep for the Tigers with experience playing free and strong safety in his career. The Tigers needed to land a safety with the ability to play center field in this defense.
The big addition to the room in the winter transfer cycle was NC State defensive back Tamarcus Cooley. While Cooley was likely going to play deep for LSU the addition of AJ Haulcy will allow LSU to move Cooley to nickel which is the position he plays best. At NC State, Cooley was at his best playing in the box as he would set the edge, fit in against the run, and he was able to break up a ton of passes. When Cooley isn't lined up at the nickel position, he'll likely play strong safety alongside AJ Haulcy.
Moving Tamarcus Cooley to the nickel position at times will affect Harold Perkins Jr as nickel and star are two similar positions. When LSU moves Cooley to the nickel it will either take Perkins off the field or allow LSU to use him at linebacker or edge rusher.
Finally, Jardin Gilbert returns with starting experience and will be healthy after playing through injury all of 2024. If Cooley moves to the nickel role, it'll likely allow Jardin Gilbert to still play deep safety but, he may also see his playing time cut down.
The X-Factor will be whether or not the younger safeties like Dashawn Spears or Javien Toviano are able to win out in camp. The fact that LSU went out and made such a massive push for a player of AJ Haulcy's caliber does indicate that the two still need time to develop but, the summer will fully show where the two are at.