How every LSU football transfer played in week one upset vs. Clemson

When LSU football signed the top-ranked transfer portal class in the country, it envisioned competing at the top of college football. The Tigers proved they belong in week one, beating top-five-ranked Clemson on the road. LSU doesn’t win this game without several transfers making impacts. LSU felt that impact on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense.

LSU’s secondary shut down Clemson’s wide receivers thanks to a stellar outing from transfer cornerback Mansoor Delane. On the defensive line, a handful of newcomers stood out.

LSU signed 18 transfers this cycle. Nearly the entire group saw the field, with most finding a key role. Of LSU’s 22 starters, 10 were transfers. That doesn’t even include AJ Haulcy, who would have started if the NCAA had not suspended the LSU safety for the first half.

Here’s a look at how LSU’s transfer class played vs. Clemson, starting with a look at Delane’s star performance.

Patrick Payton

Patrick Payton made his presence felt on play one, shooting his hand up to deflect a Cade Klubnik pass. Later in the third quarter, Payton applied pressure and forced an errant throw, resulting in a Mansoor Delane interception.

Payton finished with a 74.9 PFF grade, the second-best mark on LSU’s defense. Payton registered two pressures and a stop to go along with the batted pass.

Mansoor Delane

Delane was the star of the night for LSU’s defense. When LSU signed Delane, LSU was looking for an impact corner with Power Four experience. Delane fit that bill. Delane’s performance was arguably the best we’ve seen from an LSU corner in the Brian Kelly era.

Delane posted an 81.3 PFF defensive grade — the best among all SEC corners in week one. Delane was targeted eight times and allowed just one catch. Delane picked off a pass, LSU’s only turnover of the night, and broke up two passes.

Bernard Gooden

Gooden was a spring transfer addition. LSU thought it was set at defensive tackle, but Gooden was too talented to pass up. Gooden earned a starting job and he was LSU’s best defensive lineman in week one.

Gooden has unreal athleticism for a defensive tackle. It’s rare to see a defender that big with real closing speed. His pass rush skills even warranted LSU lining Gooden up as a standup pass rusher. Gooden racked up four pressures and posted a pass rush win rate of 10.7%. LSU made Clemson QB Cade Klubnik uncomfortable all night, and Gooden’s interior pressure played a large part in that.

AJ Haulcy

Haulcy was forced to sit out the first half after an ejection from his final game at Houston carried over to 2025. But when Haulcy returned to the field, he was hard to ignore.

Haulcy made a stop and broke up a pass. The breakup came on a key third down in the third quarter. Klubnik was looking to connect with Tyler Brown, but Haulcy made sure that didn’t happen. Haulcy only played two quarters, but its evident that he’s one of the best players on this defense.

Jack Pyburn

This is what LSU was looking for when it signed Pyburn. A defensive end with SEC experience who can defend the run. Watch how Pyburn rips inside to meet the Clemson running back at the line of scrimmage.

Pyburn didn’t make a big impact as a pass rusher, but anything he adds in that department is a bonus. As long as Pyburn continues to stop the run at a high level, he’ll remain a starter.

TaMarcus Cooley

Cooley played 57 snaps in his LSU debut, making three tackles. Per PFF, Cooley was targeted three times for 32 yards. It wasn’t Cooley’s best night, but he didn’t make any major mistakes, either. LSU needs consistent play on the backend after the struggles of 2024, and Cooley looks to be providing that.

Jimari Butler

Payton and Pyburn weren’t the only veteran defensive ends to join LSU — the Tigers also signed Nebraska’s Jimari Butler. Butler played just 19 snaps, but registered a stop and batted a pass. With four minutes to go in the third quarter, Butler showed off his athleticism, chasing down Klubnik to make a tackle. Butler provided key depth in LSU’s defensive end rotation.

Braelin Moore

Moore was heralded as a much-needed veteran presence on LSU’s offensive line all summer long. The Virginia Tech transfer took over LSU’s starting center position and has played a key role in LSU’s new offensive line learning how to play together.

All Moore did in his Tiger debut was win the SEC’s offensive lineman of the week. LSU’s OL wasn’t perfect, but Moore impressed vs. Clemson’s star studded defensive line.

Josh Thompson

Along with Moore, Thompson was the other veteran transfer to sign with LSU, arriving from Northwestern. Thompson got the start at right guard. Results were mixed, but it’s hard to be disappointed with Thompson’s showing. Peter Woods got the best of Thompson on a few reps, but Woods will be a first-round pick when the draft rolls around. Thompson held up in pass protection and made a few key run blocks.

Barion Brown

It wasn’t an uber-productive night for Barion Brown, who caught 5 passes for 25 yards. That’s what showed up on the stat sheet, but Brown’s best play didn’t even count. Brown made a great play on a perfectly placed throw. It looked like he scored, but after review, the refs said he did not secure the catch. ESPN’s rules analyst was critical of the decision.

Bauer Sharp

Tight end Bauer Sharp was Oklahoma’s leading receiver in 2024, but transferred to LSU with the Tigers needing veterans at the position following the loss of Mason Taylor. Sharp played 61 snaps and was a constant presence in week one. He played a key role in the LSU run game, and the Tigers believed in Sharp enough to ask him to block Clemson’s NFL-caliber defensive ends.

It wasn’t all pretty, though. Sharp fumbled in the first quarter, which allowed Clemson to score the first points of the night.

Nic Anderson

Anderson put up big numbers with Oklahoma in 2023, but missed most of 2024 with an injury. Now back healthy, he was part of LSU’s receiver rotation on Saturday. Anderson didn’t catch a pass, but LSU took advantage of Anderson’s size and asked him to block in the run game. Look for Anderson to make a bigger impact as a pass catcher in the coming weeks.

Donovan Green

Green’s action was limited, but LSU liked him as a blocker in heavier packages, especially in the red zone. Green was on the field when Caden Durham found the end zone for the Tigers’ first score of the night.

Destyn Hill

Hill started the game at receiver, but only played two snaps. In limited action, Hill made a nice block as LSU looked to get receivers blocking in the run game.

Grant Chadwick

We don’t forget about punters, here. Chadwick punted four times on Saturday, probably a few more times than LSU would like. Chadwick placed one punt inside the 20, and LSU averaged a net of 27.8 yards per punt,

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: How every LSU football transfer performed in Tigers’ week one win

How every LSU football transfer played in week one upset vs. Clemson

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