Former McNeese State defensive back Andre Sam, who played his high school football at Iowa, has committed to LSU.

Sam made his announcement on Twitter Thursday morning.

The safety made his decision just one day after taking a formal visit to Baton Rouge. He had moved to Tulane after playing last season at Marshall.

Sam was following former McNeese head coach Lance Guidry, who was the defensive coordinator at Marshall before moving to Tulane after last season. When Guidry took the defensive coordinator job at Miami shortly after arriving at Tulane, Sam re-entered the transfer portal.

Sam signed with McNeese in 2017 when Guidry was the head coach. He played five seasons at McNeese.

During his time with the Cowboys Sam earned all-Southland Conference honors twice. He finished with 179 tackles, five interceptions and 20 pass breakups.

Sam became a leader of the Cowboys during some tough times, helping teammate get through coaching changes, hurricanes and the COVID pandemic.

“We have been through a lot here,” Sam told the American Press in 2020. “It has not been easy, but we have worked hard to get through it.”

In 12 games with Marshall last season Sam had one interception, 53 tackles and eight pass breakups.

Sam has ties with LSU. Another former McNeese head coach, Frank Wilson, is on Brian Kelly’s Tiger staff. Wilson left McNeese when Kelly was hired from Notre Dame in December of 2021.

Wilson is a top recruiter with LSU and gave Sam a safe landing spot for his final season of eligibility. Sam is the second Cowboy who played for both Wilson and Guidry to transfer to LSU in the last two years.

Colby Richardson started his college career with McNeese at the same time Sam did. Last year he transferred to LSU, where he played in 12 games with five starts.

Richardson is now trying out for the Carolina Panthers where he signed as an undrafted free agent. Richardson graduated from McNeese in the spring of 2020.