Tag: LSU Transfers

NCAA reverses course on 2-time transfers: What it means for LSU’s Jalen Cook

Jalen Cook’s season debut may have to wait.

Jalen Cook’s LSU return may have to wait.

The former Tulane point guard began his career at LSU, but upon transferring back to Baton Rouge after two years in New Orleans, he was deemed ineligible for the 2023-24 season as a two-time transfer.

While awaiting a waiver, it seemed Cook got what he needed to make his season debut as a federal judge filed a temporary restraining order allowing ineligible athletes to play during a 14-day window.

The NCAA initially said it would not pursue retroactive action against any player who participated during the 14-day window if the ruling were later overturned, and coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] said he expected Cook to be available on Saturday against Texas in Houston.

Those plans may be on hold, however.

On Thursday, the NCAA reversed course. In its latest guidance, it deemed that players who participate during the window would lose a season of eligibility if the court order is ultimately reversed.

LSU hasn’t addressed its plan regarding Cook, but it’s hard to imagine he will play given the unclear circumstances.

His return would be welcome for a Tigers team that has struggled and sits at just 6-4 on the season. A two-year starter at Tulane, Cook averaged 19.9 points and 4.9 rebounds, leading the Green Wave.

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Former LSU tight end commits to Tigers’ bowl opponent Wisconsin

Jackson McGohan will be joining the team the Tigers take on in Tampa in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

LSU faces the Wisconsin Badgers in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Day, and there will be some added bad blood between the two teams in that game.

On Thursday, former LSU tight end Jackson McGohan announced his commitment to Wisconsin. McGohan is a former three-star recruit in the 2023 class from Miamisburg, Ohio, and he entered the transfer portal following his true freshman season.

He’ll now be heading back up to the midwest, and LSU will soon get a sneak peek at the air raid offense he’ll be running next year when it takes on the Badgers in Tampa next month.

McGohan appeared in eight games for the Tigers in 2023 as a true freshman, but most of that action came on special teams and he didn’t record a catch.

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NEW: Transfer Jalen Cook expected to make LSU debut Saturday vs. Texas

Jalen Cook will finally make his long-awaited return to LSU.

The long-awaited return of [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] has finally arrived.

LSU head basketball coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] said that he expects Cook will be available to make his debut with the Tigers this Saturday against Texas.

This decision comes on the heels of a restraining order placed on the NCAA stating that for the next 14 days, any athlete who has transferred multiple times will become immediately eligible. Cook fits that mold as he started at LSU before transferring to Tulane and then back to LSU.

The Tigers need him in a bad way offensively. LSU has scored only 57 points and 60 points in their last two big games. That will not get the job done in SEC play. For a team that did not win a conference game last season, LSU must find a way to score.

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Jalen Cook won’t make season debut for LSU vs. Alabama State despite ruling against NCAA

While Jalen Cook will likely be granted eligibility soon, he is still out despite the NCAA’s decision on Wednesday to allow two-time transfers to play.

After a federal court issued a temporary ruling against the NCAA’s two-time transfer waiver process on Wednesday, the association announced that it would no longer be enforcing its two-time transfer rules this season.

While the ruling and subsequent decision from the NCAA seemingly cleared the way for LSU’s [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] to play, he will not make his debut in his return to Baton Rouge on Wednesday night against Alabama State.

According to 247Sports’ Glen West, there are still some hangups at the SEC level that prevent Cook from suiting up for now, but in light of the ruling, it seems his return will be imminent.

Cook is a Walker, Louisiana, native who began his career at LSU before transferring to Tulane. A two-year starter for the Green Wave, he averaged a team-high 19.9 points and 4.9 assists last season.

With LSU’s struggles early in the season, Cook’s addition to the lineup could be just the boost Matt McMahon’s team needs.

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Five names LSU could target in the transfer portal

Here are five names LSU should target in the transfer portal.

Once again, LSU will be forced into the transfer portal to address some key spots.

With [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] about to enter his third year, the roster still isn’t in a place where all the holes can be filled from within the house, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The secondary was the main portal focus for LSU the last two cycles, and it could be again this year after the 2023 additions didn’t pan out.

Kelly has said LSU will begin to get more selective with transfers going forward, now that LSU doesn’t need numbers for numbers’ sake.

Here are some names that LSU could target in this year’s portal.

Report: LSU hosting Marshall transfer QB this week

The Tigers continue to pursue transfer portal quarterbacks with starting experience.

While LSU expects to return veteran backup [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] in 2024, that hasn’t stopped the team from working the transfer quarterback market.

The Tigers reportedly held an in-home visit with NC State quarterback MJ Morris last week, and he’s not the only portal passer they’re pursuing. According to 247Sports’ Clint Brewster, LSU will host Marshall transfer [autotag]Cam Fancher[/autotag] this week, as will the Wolfpack, ironically.

In three years with the Thundering Herd, Fancher appeared in 25 games. He’s been a starter the last two seasons, though he battled injuries this fall and threw as many touchdowns (11) as interceptions. In three seasons in Huntington, West Virginia, he threw for 3,766 yards, 21 touchdowns and 17 interceptions while completing 61% of his passes.

A dual-threat quarterback, he also added 757 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Per Brewster, Oregon State, Western Kentucky, FAU, Baylor and UTSA are also in the mix.

Given Fancher’s inconsistent play and an offer list that features primarily Group of Five teams, he may be more of a depth target than a potential starter.

But a quarterback room can change drastically in the portal era, and it’s clear that Brian Kelly and the staff want to bring in a signal-caller with some starting experience to a room that currently features no players who have started a college game.

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Former LSU cornerback Laterrance Welch commits to Arizona State

Laterrance Welch is heading to the desert.

Former LSU receiver [autotag]Laterrance Welch[/autotag] has found a new home after entering the transfer portal.

Welch announced his commitment to Arizona State on Sunday. He’ll head to Tempe to join a Sun Devils roster looking to bounce back after a losing season in which the team self-imposed a postseason ban.

A former four-star prospect and top-150 player nationally from Acadiana High School in Lafayette, Welch appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2022. He was expected to compete for a starting job in 2023, and while he did appear in nine games, it was only in a rotational capacity as he finished with nine total tackles.

Losing Welch hurts LSU’s depth in the secondary, but it will bring back some young contributors including true freshmen like [autotag]Javien Toviano[/autotag] and [autotag]Ashton Stamps[/autotag].

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LSU offers Texas A&M transfer offensive lineman

LSU has extended an offer to another player in the transfer portal.

LSU has extended an offer to another player in the transfer portal. This time it is an offensive lineman from Texas A&M.

[autotag]Remington Strickland[/autotag] is a 6-foot-4, 300-pound offensive lineman from Sugar Land, Texas. He was a member of the 2021 recruiting class and was rated as a three-star out of high school. He redshirted his first year in College Station before appearing in two games as a redshirt freshman and seven games as a redshirt sophomore.

Strickland is a guy who can play at any position on the offensive line. He could come in and provide immediate depth at every position if he chooses to play for LSU. The Tigers have five offensive line commitments for the 2024 recruiting class already but those are all high school recruits.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] is always looking to improve the team via the transfer portal no matter what position it is.

Hopefully, Kelly can land a few players from A&M in the portal.

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Backup LSU offensive lineman becomes 7th Tiger to enter transfer portal

LSU lost another depth piece to the transfer portal, this time along the offensive line.

LSU hasn’t seen a major loss in the transfer portal so far, but it did lose another depth piece on Friday, this time along the offensive line.

Backup offensive lineman [autotag]Marlon Martinez[/autotag] announced his decision to enter the portal as a graduate transfer and will play his fifth and final season of college football elsewhere.

A Swiss army knife in his four years with the Tigers, Martinez is capable of playing anywhere on the line and provided key depth. He appeared in 45 total games, starting four times. Three of those came at right guard in 2021, and one came at center last fall.

With [autotag]Charles Turner[/autotag] missing spring practice with an injury in 2023, Martinez took starting reps at center for most of the camp but was supplanted when Turner returned ahead of the season. Still, he appeared in all 12 games.

LSU had one of the best offensive lines in the country in 2023 as the unit was named a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, and while most of it is expected to remain intact in 2024, it will lose an important backup who is capable of starting in a bind in Martinez.

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LSU sees a former top 100 recruit enter transfer portal

LSU defensive end Quency Wiggins has entered his name into the transfer portal.

We have talked at length recently about the players LSU could be picking up in the transfer portal, but this time the shoe is on the other foot.

LSU defensive end [autotag]Quency Wiggins[/autotag] has entered his name into the transfer portal. Coming out of high school, Wiggins was ranked as the No. 11 player in the state of Louisiana and the No. 18 edge rusher in the country by ESPN. Wiggins has appeared in nine games over the past two years for the Tigers.

He appeared in five games last year and he has appeared in four games this year. He had seven tackles and one tackle for loss in those nine games.

LSU has a lack of depth on the defensive side of the ball at almost every position and this transfer will not help that depth issue at all. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] will be looking to the 2024 recruiting class and to the transfer portal for a player who can fill the void left by Wiggins.

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