HAMMOND, La. – It turns out you can go home again. Just ask Southeastern Louisiana University defensive back Ian Conerly-Goodly.
 
After transferring to Troy last fall following a breakout 2023 season, Conerly-Goodly is back where it all began for him and is one of the leaders for a Lion team that is in the midst of the first week of fall camp.
 
The Covington, Louisiana native returns to Hammond looking to close out his collegiate journey – a journey with many twists and turns – on a high note.
 
Coming out of Covington High School, Conerly-Goodly received offers from Southeastern and Southland Conference rival Lamar. With the SLU campus just 30 minutes from his home and the standard of success the program was developing under head coach Frank Scelfo, donning the green and gold was an easy decision.
 
"I felt like a hometown kid coming to play at Southeastern," Conerly-Goodly commented. "During my recruiting process they were in the playoffs and winning games, so I thought I could come to SLU and be part of a championship-winning program."
 
Primarily contributing on special teams at the beginning of his true freshman season in 2022, Conerly-Goodly took over a starting role in the secondary for the final four games for the Southland Conference champion Lions. In his postseason debut, he posted 10 tackles and a forced fumble in a wild 45-42 over Idaho in the first round of the NCAA FCS playoffs.  
 
"I didn't get on the field early because it was challenging for me to learn a new scheme coming right out of high school," Conerly-Goodly said. "But as the season went on, I became more comfortable with the system and I could feel the coaches' trust in me growing."
 
Coming off the momentum of a strong finish to his debut campaign, Conerly-Goodly took off in 2023 as a sophomore. Now fully entrenched as a starter, he led the Lions with 109 tackles – good for second in the Southland Conference and 14^th in all of FCS.

"The mistakes I made as a freshman were mental errors, not due to a lack of ability," Conerly-Goodly stated. "Once the mental aspects of my game caught up to my physical skills, I was able to put together a great season."
 
That great season led to postseason accolades for Conerly-Goodly, who earned first team All-SLC and All-Louisiana honors. That recognition made Conerly-Goodly a highly-sought after player when he entered the transfer portal.
 
"I loved it at Southeastern, but I felt like I wanted to test myself and find out if I could play at the FBS level," Conerly-Goodly commented. "Now having played in FCS and FBS, I can attest first hand that there's not really much of a difference between the two levels."
 
In his lone season at Troy, Conerly-Goodly played in 12 games, making 54 tackles on the year and returning an interception for a touchdown versus Southern Miss. However, with the Trojans playing two midweek games and both of their byes coinciding with Southeastern home games, Conerly-Goodly attended several contests in Strawberry Stadium last fall.
 
He watched as SLU shook off a 1-4 start versus a daunting nonconference schedule, finishing as the conference runner up with a 6-1 league mark and narrowly missing a return to the postseason as one of the last four teams out of the 24-team NCAA FCS playoff field.
 
"This is my home and the players on this team are my brothers, so I was always going to come back and support when I could regardless of where I was playing," Conerly-Goodly said. "I was happy for their success, but it was tough watching my team, while I was playing for another school."
 
While Conerly-Goodly is quick to praise the Troy program and express love for his former teammates, he came to the realization that staying with the Trojans wasn't the best fit for his final collegiate season and he re-entered the portal. Scelfo and his staff were quick to work on bringing the talented safety back to Hammond.
 
"When we look at available players in the portal, we assess their ability to fit into our culture and their ability to make plays on the field," Scelfo said. "With Ian, we already knew he checked both boxes. He made over 100 tackles his last season with us, plus he's one of the hardest workers and a great vocal leader for our program. It was a no-brainer to try to bring him back."
 
Conerly-Goodly had several other offers to weigh against the chance to return to the Lions, but it all came down to one factor for him.
 
"After I enter the portal, I'm being contacted by other schools," Conerly-Goodly stated. "And the question that I kept asking myself about these teams is 'Can I really trust them?' I realized that the coaches and teammates I trusted the most are right here in Hammond. I knew the one team I could trust to help me be my best for my senior season was Southeastern."
 
Scelfo believes Conerly-Goodly is poised for a great final collegiate campaign based on not only his talent and experience, but the strength of the culture within the Southeastern program.
 
"We respect our players and provide them with the structure that they need to be successful," Scelfo said. "Ian knows our expectations and what we're about. He hasn't missed a beat since he's been back. He's been somewhere else and it didn't work out for him. Now he can come back to our program and have the opportunity to maximize his potential as a player."
 
Named a preseason All-America selection by FCS Football Central, Conerly-Goodly wants to put together his cleanest season in 2025. He believes any individual accolades will come if he can play a part in helping Southeastern reach its goal of winning another Southland Conference championship and is confident he's at the right place to reach that goal.
 
"It's our culture," Conerly-Goodly said when asked what makes Southeastern special. "We're tough out here in this Louisiana heat and nobody's complaining. We hold ourselves to a high standard and we won't shy away from any competition. I can say confidently that the players in our locker room are fearless.
 
"Our program produces elite players," Conerly-Goodly concluded. "We've had guys head to the NFL, move on to Power Four programs or even go to G5 programs like I did. Southeastern is a breeding ground for greatness.'
 
Southeastern concludes its opening week of fall practice with a 9 a.m. practice Saturday in Strawberry Stadium. SLU opens the 2025 campaign Aug. 30 with a 6:30 p.m. contest at Louisiana Tech. The Lions open their five-game home schedule Sept. 13, hosting Mississippi Valley State at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on X, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and follow lionupfootball on Instagram.
 
TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics observes a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.