Joe Foucha returns, prepared to make immediate impact at LSU

It’s a week filled with firsts for senior safety Joe Foucha and a moment he’s been waiting for since he was a kid. The New Orleans native is preparing to play his first game at LSU this weekend, but make no mistake, he’s more than ready for the task at hand.

After four years at Arkansas, Foucha decided to return to Louisiana and suit up for Brian Kelly’s LSU squad. Now, as the Tigers prepare for their first road SEC game of the year, there’s no easing his way back into the mix.

Instead, Foucha is expected to start and play a significant role at safety with safety Major Burns out for at least three weeks. He’s been practicing with the team throughout fall camp and the season, but now it gets real for Foucha who’s just excited to be finally suiting up.

“I’m very excited. I’ve prepared for this moment,” Foucha said. “I found out towards the end of camp that I [would be missing the four games], but when I heard the news I had to keep the same mentality. I’ve kept everything bottled in, but I know i’m going to be happy to be back out there.”

After his initial path took him to Arkansas, there was a relief in returning back home where friends and family can watch all of his games in person.

“Every kid in Louisiana wants to play for [LSU], but in my situation,. I just wanted to experience something new,” Foucha said. “God does things for a reason and I get to finish my senior season here at home. Now I get to play in front of my family, so just living the dream of having my whole family there was [important].”

For Foucha, it may be a unique experience, but it’s not his first rodeo in the SEC. The four-year contributor for the Razorbacks played in 44 games with 33 starts, establishing himself on one of the conference’s most improved defenses in recent years.

Now on Matt House’s defense, he’s tasked with replicating his playmaking ability that stood out the past three years. In a new defense with new faces around him, the one consistent has been fellow Arkansas transfer Greg Brooks.

Brooks and Foucha roomed together throughout their time in Fayetteville and came to LSU together. Now, the duo will be the two starting safeties for LSU on saturday.

“The story couldn’t have gone any better,” Foucha said. “It’s a beautiful thing to see. We’re here together and now we get the chance to play together again on Saturday. We’ve been together for a while, so just for us transferring here, we’ve always wanted to play beside one another and we really get to do it now. We’re thankful to be playing together in our home state now.”

Foucha recorded 231 tackles, 17 pass breakups and five interceptions in his four years at Arkansas, and now that playmaking prowess will be valuable for LSU for the remainder of the season.

During Foucha’s first media availability of the season, he was quiet, but slowly opened up to the onslaught of questions. While there are plenty of firsts this week, playing in a road SEC game is not one of them. He knows he’ll be ready.

“I know [Auburn] is a hostile environment, but I’ve been in those types of environments before,” Foucha said. “Today was my first live practice with the [ones], but it feels like I’ve been out there because I was still practicing. I was still tuned in even though I wasn’t playing, so the communication has never been lost and [my teammates] help me with communication every day. They’re there to back me up. I’m just locked in even more now.”