LSU made the cut for one of the top safeties in the 2026 recruiting class
Four-star safety Ayden Pouncey released his top 10 schools and LSU made the cut.
According to a report from 247Sports’ Tom Loy, LSU was joined by Miami, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Florida, among others, for the services of the 2026 prospect.
Pouncey, a Florida native, is the No. 8 ranked safety in the class, according to ESPN’s rankings. The On3 Industry Rankings slot Pouncey No. 131 overall, No. 12 at his position, and No. 21 in the state of Florida.
Per the On3 Prediction Machine, Miami is the favorite to land Pouncey with a 23.6% chance. Florida State is second with 20.8%.
In 2024, Pouncey took visits to Oregon, Florida State, and Miami.
LSU is looking to add talent to its safety room that’s struggled the last few years. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] reshaped the defensive coaching staff after the 2023 season, adding secondary coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] and safeties coach Jake Olsen. There was an improvement in 2024, but LSU wants the talent level at safety back to where it was in the 2000s and 2010s.
These five teams did the most to address their secondaries in the transfer portal. Where does LSU rank?
LSU football entered the offseason needing help in the secondary. The Tigers have been inconsistent on the backend under [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and are losing veteran corner [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag], along with a handful of transfer portal exits.
Last year, Kelly hired secondary [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] to help right the ship. Raymond built the best secondaries in college football in his original stint at LSU.
The group improved in 2024, but the talent level wasn’t where it needed to be.
When the transfer portal opened, LSU got busy. Raymond is one of the best recruiters in the game. With the help of a strong NIL push, Raymond was able to land some of the top defensive backs on the market.
Today, we’ll look at the top secondary transfer portal hauls of 2025. Some players are still looking for a home, but most of the big dominoes have fallen.
In these rankings, I’ve tried to gauge which classes are best set up to make an impact in 2025. Talent and experience matter.
Bill Belichick is running the show in Chapel Hill — that’s a good sign for the Tar Heels defense. Belichick made some splashes in the secondary that will lead to instant improvement on that side of the ball.
Belichick hires his son, Steve, away from Washington to lead the unit. Steve Belichick brought cornerback Thaddeus Dixon and safety Peyton Waters along with him. Waters didn’t play much but was a freshman in 2024. Dixon, according to PFF, was the No. 5 ranked coverage corner in the Big Ten.
UNC added safety, Gavin Gibson, from ECU, who totaled six pressures with four pass breakups in 2024.
Gibson adds playmaking ability while Dixon has a chance to be one of the best corners in the ACC.
Washington took a loss with Dixon transferring to UNC, but they added the top-ranked corner in the transfer portal in Tacario Davis.
Davis thought about the NFL but decided to reunite with former coach Jedd Fisch in Seattle. Davis is an All-American caliber player and gives the Huskies a shot at building one of the Big Ten’s best units.
At safety, Washington signed FIU transfer CJ Christian. At 6’1′, Christian has the size to play in the box or make players in coverage. He totaled 23 stops and picked off a pass in 2024. He brings over 1,500 snaps of experience to the Huskies’ defense.
Washington didn’t add volume, but a few teams signed a higher-quality defensive backs from the transfer portal.
3. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Arizona Republic
Texas Tech’s transfer class is one of the best across the board, but it’s especially strong in the secondary.
At corner, the Red Raiders signed Brice Pollock and Amier Boyd-Matthews. The two rank No. 9 and No. 14 on 247Sports’ cornerback transfer rankings. At safety, Texas Tech signed North Dakota State transfer Cole Wisniewski. He’s 247Sports’ No. 4 ranked safety transfer.
From Purdue, Tech added Tarrion Grant. He struggled as a true freshman in 2024, but he offers upside and multiple years of eligibility.
Texas Tech added impact players with volume.
2. LSU Tigers
Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
LSU comes in one off the top spot. The Tigers signed three defensive backs, and all are expected to make an impact in 2025.
He brings much-needed experience to LSU’s secondary and can slide into Alexander’s role.
At safety, LSU added TaMarcus Cooley from NC State. Cooley had a breakout year with the Wolfpack in 2024 and gives LSU playmaking versatility.
The most talented but least proven of the group is former Florida CB Ja’Keem Jackson.
Jackson reunites with Corey Raymond at LSU but missed most of 2024 with an injury. If he’s healthy, he will compete for a starting spot.
1. Miami Hurricanes
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Miami signed five defensive backs out of the transfer portal with an average rating of .902 according to 247Sports. That’s elite quality at an elite volume.
With Charles Brantley and Ethan O’Connor, Miami signed two of the top five corners on the market, per the On3 Industry Rankings.
At safety, Miami signed Zechariah Poyser. Moving up from Jacksonville State, there will be an adjustment for Poyser, but he has the talent to play at the power conference level.
The class is rounded out by former Arizona CB Emmanuel Karnley and former Wisconsin S Xavier Lucas.
Miami struggled to prevent the big play in 2024, but that should change in 2025.
DJ Pickett is the headliner of LSU’s 2025 defensive class. Can LSU hold on down the stretch?
Most of the 2025 five-stars have already committed, which means teams must push for flips if they wish to add a five-star to their class.
Miami is doing just that with five-star LSU commit [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag]. It came as somewhat of a surprise when Pickett committed to LSU over the summer. Now, the Tigers will be tested to hold on down the stretch.
“Mario Cristobal has been relentless in his communication,” On3’s Steve Wiltfong said, “but I think the push is only going to continue as you get close to the early signing period in December.”
Pickett is a Florida native and LSU fought hard to beat out Pickett’s home-state teams, but that always gets tougher as signing day nears.
According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Pickett is the No. 8 overall prospect and the No. 2 overall corner. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] brought secondary coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] back to LSU with the hope of landing defensive backs of Pickett’s caliber.
Raymond is off to a good start with Pickett on board, along with blue-chips [autotag]Kade Phillips[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Bradford[/autotag] and [autotag]Aidan Anding[/autotag].
LSU’s had trouble building a consistent the last few years, but the 2025 class offers a chance to build a strong core on the backed. Keeping Pickett in the fold will be critical for Kelly and the LSU coaching staff as signing day nears.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
LSU is halfway through its regular season. Here’s four things we’ve learned about the Tigers.
We’re already halfway through the college football regular season. LSU has six games down with six more to go.
LSU’s first six games didn’t lack intrigue. LSU’s played four games against Power Four opponents and three came down to the wire. LSU came up short against USC in Week 1 but staged comebacks against South Carolina and Ole Miss to jump out to a 2-0 start in conference play.
After the Ole Miss upset, LSU is up to No. 8 in the AP Poll, five spots better than where it began the year at No. 13.
Given all that LSU lost after 2023, a 5-1 start is impressive. You can’t make the playoff in the first six games, but you can get knocked out of it. LSU did enough to stay alive and remain in the thick of the playoff race.
Here, we’ll look at five things we’ve learned about LSU in these last seven weeks. We had a lot of questions about this group entering the year and now with a good sample size to look at, many have been answered.
The receiver depth is even better than we thought
Receiver was somewhat of a question for LSU after losing [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] That type of production is hard to replace in one offseason, but LSU is managing just fine with a plethora of talented options.
[autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag] leads the way with 30 catches for 463 yards. His five-catch, 111-yard performance vs. Ole Miss made it back-to-back 100-yard games for the fifth-year senior.
[autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] is enjoying a breakout year with 30 catches for 452 yards. Both marks rank in the top 10 among SEC receivers. Transfers [autotag]CJ Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Zavion Thomas[/autotag] are both making impacts too.
Along with the receivers, tight end [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] leads all SEC tight ends with 33 receptions.
This group doesn’t have the same explosiveness element as last year’s, but it’s deep and dependable.
Defensive development is ahead of schedule
LSU brought in a new staff on the defensive side of the ball, hoping to accelerate the development and get the most out of its young talent. We’re seeing that so far.
Start at defensive tackle, where [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] continues to get competent production from its interior defensive line despite losing [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag]. True freshmen [autotag]Ahmad Breaux[/autotag] and [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag] are both in the rotation while veteran transfer [autotag]Gio Paez[/autotag] is on track to set career highs in stops and pressures.
At linebacker, Blake Baker has sophomore Whit Weeks playing like a star. Greg Penn has shown progress too.
LSU hired Corey Raymond to rebuild the secondary, and we’re already seeing the impact for LSU’s corners. The Tigers look much more comfortable in man coverage and playing balls in the air. Zy Alexander leads all SEC CBs in PFF coverage grade after week seven.
The OC transition could have been smoother
LSU’s offense is good, but it’s still experiencing some hiccups as it figures out its identity. Mike Denbrock took the OC job at Notre Dame after leading the best offense in the country at LSU in 2023.
Brian Kelly didn’t have to look far for Denbrock’s replacement, promoting QB coach Joe Sloan and WR coach Cortez Hankton.
Sloan called plays before in his time at Louisiana Tech, but this is his first time doing it at this level.
LSU has struggled to recreate last year’s success on the ground. Regression was expected without Jayden Daniels’ legs, but the fall is significant. After leading the country in EPA/rush last year, LSU ranks 94th this year.
Nussmeier isn’t a threat with his legs and LSU is yet to find an adjustment that makes up for that.
The drop-back game is one of the best in the FBS, but consistency is an issue. Nussmeier was uncomfortable early against Ole Miss but eventually settled in. Expect Sloan to get his QB in rhythm early against Arkansas.
LSU shows poise under pressure
All offseason, Brian Kelly spoke about the maturity of this team. He said it was the most “player-led” group he’s had since arriving in Baton Rouge. That’s starting to show up on the field.
LSU hasn’t played many comfortable games this year. Outside of South Alabama, virtually every game was close at one point. That said, LSU found a way to be 5-1.
The Tigers came up short at the end vs. USC, but LSU hung in there to get big conference wins against South Carolina and Ole Miss. Both wins required big plays late in the game.
Ideally, you’d like to see LSU controlling more games than it is, but remaining cool under pressure isn’t a skill every team has. It’ll come in handy with more close games in the coming weeks.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
One of the position groups that struggled the most for LSU last fall was the defensive backs.
One of the position groups that struggled the most for LSU last fall was the defensive backs. They were a weak link to a defense that gave up a ton of points and was ranked as one of the worst teams in not only the SEC but the NCAA.
This season, the Tigers have a new defensive coordinator in [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] and he looks to fix some of the issues LSU had last fall. Between Baker, [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Kevin Peoples[/autotag], [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag], and [autotag]Jake Olson[/autotag], I believe the defense will be a lot better. With that being said, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] recently stated he wants the safeties to do a better job tackling.
“I think from the safety position we’ve got to continue to stress them in tackling,” Kelly said, per On3. “That’s really going to be a big piece for us is can we erase some mistakes up front? And when we say mistakes up front, if we cut a gap loose, if there’s an issue up front relative to a run fit, can those safeties erase for us? And we’re not there yet. We need to continue to evaluate that.”
As a safety, you are the final line of defense between a running back or a receiver and the endzone. If you don’t make the tackle, it’s six points every time.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
LSU is continuing to make waves on the recruiting trail this summer.
LSU landed the nation’s top corner earlier this month, picking up a commitment from [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag]. Is LSU on its way to adding the top safety too? On Wednesday, On3’s Billy Embody logged a prediction for LSU to land five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag].
In a rare consensus agreement, all four major recruiting sites rank Williams as the No. 1 safety in the 2025 class. Overall, Williams rates highest at 247Sports, where he’s the No. 7 player in the country.
Williams would be the fourth industry five-star to join LSU’s 2025 class and the Tigers’ third top 10 overall recruit, joining Pickett and QB [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag].
LSU has stiff competition. Oregon was considered the favorite not too long ago while Texas and Texas A&M are making noise as well. LSU appears to be capitalizing on recent recruiting momentum along with a more organized NIL effort.
[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] is counting on the 2025 class to restock the defense with talent after firing and replacing the entire defensive staff. Among the new but familiar faces are defensive line coach [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] and secondary coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag]. Both are renowned for their ability on the recruiting trail and we’ve seen it pay off this summer.
If LSU manages to land Williams and Pickett, the Tigers have two five-stars that can propel LSU back to DBU status and put an end to the inconsistency LSU’s seen on the backend during the Kelly era.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
LSU remains in the mix for five-star Jonah Williams ahead of his visit to LSU.
[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and LSU have caught fire on the recruiting trail. This summer has brought a flurry of commitments, including five-star corner [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag]. LSU is back in the race for the No. 1 overall class in the country, but LSU is far from finished.
According to Steve Wiltfong of On3, LSU is making a push for [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag], the top safety in the country.
“I think LSU is still one of those programs that you look at and say they’re in the top two or three for the No. 1 ranked safety in the country. He’s loved his visits to Baton Rouge. He’s someone that’s gonna play baseball on the next level. He’s throwing 94 miles per hour this summer. LSU’s track record of baseball is also something that helps them out,” Wiltfong said.
Wiltfong mentioned Oregon, Texas and Texas A&M as well, but said “LSU is right in the middle of it.”
“I Think LSU is in the top two or three”@SWiltfong_ has 5 Jonah Williams intel
Williams would be another massive get as Kelly and defensive backs coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] look to reload with talent in the secondary. LSU already has the nation’s top corner on board, but getting the top safety would be the exclamation point on an already elite class.
LSU has a history of landing elite safeties and sending to the NFL. Raymond produced [autotag]Jamal Adams[/autotag] and [autotag]Grant Delpit[/autotag] in his previous stint at LSU. The Tigers will hope Williams goes on to join that group.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
LSU and Brian Kelly are expecting a group of young defenders to take a step in 2024.
[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] knows his defense wasn’t up to par last year. It led to a change-up with the entire defensive staff with Kelly firing defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag] and hiring [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag]. Along with Baker, LSU brought in [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag]. Two of the most heralded assistant coaches in the country.
“We know that defensively, we need to reach a higher level of play,” Kelly told the SEC Network on Monday morning.
“We played a lot of young guys on defense that we expect to take that next step this year,” Kelly said.
LSU didn’t land many top prospects in the transfer portal, so LSU will be counting on the development of the younger defenders to be the answer on defense.
Eight underclassmen played 70 snaps or more on defense for LSU last year. The biggest name in that group is [autotag]Harold Perkins Jr.[/autotag], who has All-American potential as he enters his junior year.
Up front, LSU will need a step forward from [autotag]Da’Shawn Womack[/autotag]. The former five-star recruit showed flashes in 2023, but will have a bigger opportunity in 2024.
On the backend, defensive backs [autotag]Ashton Stamps[/autotag] and [autotag]Javien Toviano[/autotag] fit the same bill. Both were thrown into the fire as true freshmen last year and it’s hard to imagine the LSU secondary finding success if they don’t contribute this fall.
LSU remains talented and has the chance for a strong young core of defenders to emerge this fall. If it all comes together, expect to see LSU back in the College Football Playoff.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
Top LSU cornerback target DJ Pickett trimmed his list to three schools, keeping the Tigers in the mix.
Few prospects are higher on LSU’s board than five-star cornerback [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag]. LSU hired [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] to land prospects of Pickett’s caliber and rebuild a secondary that’s experienced volatility since [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] arrived at LSU.
That’s not necessarily good or bad news, but it’s one less top school LSU has to compete with for Pickett’s services. The race is now between LSU, Oregon and Miami.
Last week, On3’s Steve Wiltfong said “If the decision was today, I’d ride with the Ducks.”
That comes as no surprise given Oregon’s heater on the recruiting trail. Dan Lanning and company recently secured a commitment from [autotag]Dakorien Moore[/autotag], the top wide receiver in the class and a former LSU commit. LSU losing another five-star to Oregon would sting, but it’s better than a conference rival.
Still, LSU is in need of a superstar corner. It’s been a while since the Tigers landed a five-star at the position. You’d have to go back to [autotag]Eli Ricks[/autotag] in 2020.
That’s rare for a program that became accustomed to landing some of the top defensive backs in the country year after year.
LSU won a national title in 2019 behind a historic offense, but that defense had a five-star corner duo with [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Kristian Fulton[/autotag]. That’s the level of talent LSU needs on the backend if it wants to compete for titles again.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
LSU football and baseball teamed up to recruit one of the top safeties in the country.
Two-sport stars aren’t new to LSU. Many will remember [autotag]Chad Jones[/autotag], who was All-SEC on the gridiron and won a national championship on the baseball field. More recently, [autotag]Maurice Hampton[/autotag] was a member of both squads.
That’s the vision LSU athletics tried to sell to five-star safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] this weekend.
“Jonah Williams is the definition of a two-sport star,” On3’s profile reads, “Along with being named the district MVP in football during his sophomore season, he’s also widely regarded as one of the top baseball talents in the Lone Star State.”
On his visit, Williams threw on an LSU baseball uniform for a photoshoot. If playing both sports is valued by Williams, that could boost LSU’s chances in this recruitment. Few schools offer the high profile LSU does on the football field and baseball field.
According to the On3 Prediction Machine, Oklahoma is the leader right now with Texas A&M in second place.
#LSU with a pretty cool photo shoot for 5 Jonah Williams.
Williams is a bonafide star on both the gridiron and the diamond. #LSU’s Jay Johnson is assisting Brian Kelly on this one
All four major recruiting sites rank Williams as the top safety in the 2025 class. 247Sports is the highest on his talents, ranking Williams as the No. 7 overall recruit in the class.
LSU’s 2025 class is one of the best in the country right now, but there’s still a way to go. The Tigers have 11 commitments, including the nation’s top recruit QB [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag].
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
Jonah Williams intel
via joelprogers/insta