USF DL transfer Bernard Gooden commits to LSU

USF defensive line transfer Bernard Gooden has committed to LSU out of the NCAA transfer portal, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett. Gooden, who has one year of eligibility remaining, ranks inside the top 100 of On3’s transfer portal rankings.

Gooden played one season at USF after beginning his career at Wake Forest. He had a breakout season for the Bulls in 2024, totaling 35 tackles, two pass breakups, and 1.5 sacks as a disruptive presence in the trenches.

During his lone season at Wake Forest, he totaled seven tackles and half a sack during three appearances. He went on to transfer the following offseason but sat out in 2023 due to transfer portal rules.

Gooden is the second defensive lineman to transfer to Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers this offseason. He joins Sydir Mitchell, who joined the program this spring after committing to LSU during the winter transfer portal window.

His commitment comes after he visited LSU this week. He was set to be in Baton Rouge from Thursday to Saturday and appears to have committed at the end.

Before college, Gooden was a three-star recruit according to the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 1,136 overall recruit in his recruiting class, as well as the No. 89 overall defensive lineman.

His decision comes less than a day after Tigers defensive lineman Dilan Battle entered the NCAA transfer portal. He enrolled at the school in January as part of the Tigers’ 2025 recruiting class but decided to move on during his short time with the program.

Battle went through spring practice with LSU after signing with the program during the early signing period. He will now head to the portal with all four years of eligibility remaining.

Now, Gooen is set to join an LSU program hungry to reach the College Football Playoff after finishing the 2024 campaign with a 9-4 record. The Tigers kick off its regular season on Aug. 30 against Clemson.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.