Rebuild incurs another roadblock: LSU’s ability to fix cornerback position dealt setback with Laterrance Welch entering transfer portal

LSU sophomore cornerback Laterrance Welch (5) defends Tre Harris of Ole Miss. PHOTO COURTESY: Sports Illustrated.com

The ongoing equation to solve LSU’s difencies in the secondary will have one less variable to factor in.

Sophomore cornerback Laterrance Welch said on his social media account Friday he’s entering the NCAA transfer portal which opens Monday.

Welch becomes the third member, and second on scholarship, to enter his name into the transfer portal which closes on Jan. 2 He joins running backs Armoni Goodwin, who didn’t play in ’23, and walk-on running back Corren Norman.

“I would like to especially thank my teammates for everything any always having my back,” Welch wrote on his Instagram account. “It was a great ride.”

The 6-foot-1, 193-pound of Welch, a former four-star cornerback at Acadiana High in Scott, had 13 tackles in 23 career games that also includes extensive work on special teams.

LSU second-year coach Brian Kelly tried to replenish a diminishing secondary throughout the 2023 season with a mixture of signees from the transfer portal and young players.

A combination of injuries and inability to stay in good graces with Kelly, reduced LSU’s cornerback position to having to rely on players with limited or no college experience.

Welch, the nation’s No. 12 cornerback and No. 7 player in Louisiana per ESPN, found himself thrown into the mix during a back-and-forth shootout on Sept. 30 at Ole Miss which the Rebels won, 55-49. He was credited with playing 96 snaps on defense by Pro Football Focus.

Welch registered a career-high five tackles in that game but wasn’t much of a factor the rest of the season. He played in nine of the team’s 12 games with no starts and finished with nine tackles.

Welch, who was part of two Class 5A state championships at Acadiana, played in nine games as a freshman in 2022 with four tackles on defense.

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