In the new era of college football, the transfer portal causes major roster turnover year-in and year-out. Players head to new schools for a multitude of reasons, whether it be coaching changes, playing opportunities, or in the NIL era, financial benefits. LSU utilized the transfer portal heavily this past offseason, bringing in a total of 18 new faces via the portal. At the same time, over 20 players chose to leave LSU for different schools.
Rickie Collins is one such player who chose to leave Baton Rouge for a new opportunity. Collins went north to Syracuse, where he now finds himself in a prominant role.
Rickie Collins gets opportunity to be QB1
Collins was initially told by Syracuse head coach Fran Brown that he has going to be the Orange's starting quarterback in 2025. However, Syracuse brought in Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli following Spring Camp, and Angeli ended up defeating Collins in the Fall Camp QB battle. It was a tough blow for Collins, who thought he had the starting job locked up.
Angeli started the first four games of the season, totaling 1,316 passing yards and 10 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He led the nation with 1,072 passing yards through three weeks. However, after starting against Clemson on Saturday, Angeli suffered a lower left leg injury against the Tigers and is now slated to miss several weeks. Now, Collins has his chance to start.
Fran Brown said on postgame radio that QB Steve Angeli is “out for a long time.”
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) September 21, 2025
Syracuse will have to lean on Rickie Collins for the foreseeable future. Duke visits the Orange next week. https://t.co/HH7oCVO3UM pic.twitter.com/QAaPAwdR22
Despite losing the starting job to Angeli, it was reported that Collins played well throughout Fall Camp. When Angeli went down against Clemson, Collins stepped in and went 3-for-8 for 34 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. His touchdown pass to Justus Ross-Simmons made it a three-score game and all but sealed up Syracuse's win. Down the stretch, Collins wasn't asked to do much except manage the game and milk the clock. Syracuse pulled off the upset and defeated Dabo Swinney's Tigers by a score of 34-21 after being 17.5-point underdogs.
Collins is a Louisiana native, and attended Woodlawn High School in East Baton Rouge Parish. He originally committed to Purdue, but then chose to stay close to home and attend LSU. He was rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 12 overall player in Louisiana after throwing for 1,930 yards and 16 touchdowns during his junior season.
He spent two seasons with the Tigers seeing limited playing time with Garrett Nussmeier as the starter. Collins completed all seven of his pass attempts for 38 yards without a touchdown or interception at LSU. He also rushed for 37 yards on seven carries. When Nussmeier announced he was coming back for one more season at LSU, Collins entered the transfer portal.
Syracuse's next game is this Saturday, Sept. 27 vs Duke at 12:00 p.m. ET. In October, the Orange face SMU, Pittsburgh, No. 18 Georgia Tech, and North Carolina.