Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks Jr. each grew up about an hour away from Tiger Stadium, with Brooks Jr. spending his early life in Harvey and Foucha residing in New Orleans and briefly living with his aunt in Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina.

Despite being so close to LSU all their lives, they both initially decided to attend Arkansas, as Foucha said that he wanted to experience someplace new so that he could mature on his own. While he began his Razorback career a year prior to Brooks Jr., that didn’t stop the pair of Louisiana natives from immediately connecting. The two becoming roommates as soon as Brooks Jr. arrived on campus.  

Throughout their time at Arkansas, they developed a strong, brotherly relationship, becoming close off the field and competitive on it, striving to make each other better every chance they got. Every time Brooks Jr. got a pick, Foucha felt that he had to get one as well, and vice versa.

“He’s really my best friend,” Brooks Jr. said. “So, me and him on the field is going to be great.”

That willingness to improve, along with coaching changes and other improvements in the secondary, led to solid improvements in Arkansas’s pass defense. It wasn’t the best in the country but jumping from the bottom of the category in 2019 and 2020 to circling the top-50 is considerable. 

Three seasons and over 300 combined tackles later, the pair played in their last game with Arkansas, finishing their Razorback careers with arguably the best performance of their time as a duo. Brooks Jr. intercepted a pass in the first to establish defensive momentum and Foucha intercepted one in the fourth, a dagger in the endzone that all but solidified Arkansas’s 24-10 win over Penn State in the Outback bowl.

After briefly considering going pro, Foucha decided instead that it was time to return home to play his senior season at LSU, citing his family as the primary reason for the move. 

“Just to have the dream of having my whole family here without a question,” Foucha said on why it was important to come back. “Every time we would play LSU, I would have my whole family here and that’s like the only time they really got to see me play.”

With Foucha opting to head back home, he stated that everyone around them likely expected Brooks Jr. to do the same. They discussed the prospect of leaving beforehand, loving the idea of returning home and continuing to rep the same colors.

“We had a talk like if we were to leave, we still wanted to play with each other,” Foucha said. “We were thankful enough to be able to play with each other here in our own hometown.”

Fast forward to fall camp and things seemed to be going well. Brooks Jr. was expected to start at nickelback and though Major Burns and Jay Ward appeared to have the safety positions locked down, Foucha was still near the top of the rotation. However, the chance to play in Tiger Stadium sporting purple and gold wouldn’t come right away for Foucha, as he was forced to serve a four-game suspension due to academic issues with the transfer process.

Foucha didn’t let that faze him, preparing throughout that period as if he would man the field at any moment.

“I still [had] to prepare as if I was going to play Saturday,” Foucha said. “I felt like that helped me out in the long run and I got to go against the ones, and that helped them out as well.”

Although it wasn’t what the pair had planned when they arrived in Baton Rouge, the one familiar dynamic that remained was making each other better. Even though Foucha has yet to play in a game this season, the two have continued to help sharpen each other’s skills in practice, making sure both are on top of their games.

“He’s been practicing great, being a great scout team player,” Brooks Jr. said. “Now he’s free, so our guys are going to see what he’s capable of doing.”

Not only does he get to play alongside his longtime teammate for the team they grew up rooting for, but they’re also getting the opportunity to play at each safety position with Jay Ward playing nickel against Auburn, something they were never able to do in the past. This is what the pair had in mind over the offseason, and the game against Auburn will mark the beginning of this new chapter. 

 “The story couldn’t have gone any better. It’s a beautiful thing to see. God does things for a reason,” Foucha said. “We’re here together and now we’ve got an opportunity to play alongside each other. We’ve been together for a while. We always wanted to play alongside each other, and we really get to do it now.”

The journey of Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks Jr. is a testament to the places hard work, dedication and friendship can bring you. Despite both athletes dreaming of one day playing for LSU, they both initially decided it best to start elsewhere, bettering themselves at Arkansas before securing their dream of becoming LSU Tigers.

With Foucha finally being able to play alongside Brooks Jr. competitively again, the dream of playing with those three letters across their chests will finally be accomplished on Saturday. 

“It’s going to be a beautiful thing to watch, especially with me sitting out. I’ve been waiting on this moment for a long time and that the moment has come,” Foucha said. “I feel I am prepared, even with me not playing, I’ve still been preparing like I’m playing. So, now that I have the opportunity to finally get on the field, it’s like I just can’t wait. It’s all bottled up and I can’t wait to let loose.”