The LSU Football team had a rollercoaster season with how the quarterback room was appearing to shake out. The Tigers held a commitment from the Nation's top quarterback and top overall recruit Bryce Underwood who looked like he was going to be the successor to Garrett Nussmeier. When LSU ended up getting Garrett Nussmeier back for one more season while losing Bryce Underwood it was clear LSU was going to add a younger quarterback via the transfer portal.
In the transfer portal, LSU went out and landed Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren, who showed a ton of promise as a freshman in limited playing time. As Michael Van Buren joined the room with Colin Hurley set to return, LSU quarterback Rickie Collins entered the transfer portal, landing at Syracuse.
Syracuse names former LSU QB Rickie Collins its starter for 2025
While Spring Practices are still underway, it didn't take long for Rickie Collins to win out in Syracuse's Quarterback battle as Fran Brown already named Collins the Orange's starting quarterback.
Fran Brown on naming LSU transfer QB Rickie Collins as Syracuse's starting quarterback:
— Ashley Wenskoski (@AshleyWenskTV) April 7, 2025
He described the competition as "even" but said Collins had the edge because he's only been with the team since December
"He's moving into being the leader of our football team." pic.twitter.com/uz2uRAOaPQ
The news is not surprising to LSU fans as everyone knew that Rickie Collins had the talent to start at a Power 4 school. Collins signed with LSU and joined a quarterback room that had Jayden Daniels which meant he was never going to start as a True Freshman. Given how long Garrett Nussmeier stepped around, Collins was going to have a tough time beating the Senior out. If LSU lost Garrett Nussmeier to the NFL Draft, Collins could've stuck around but, he wasn't going to wait a third season on the sidelines.
During his time at LSU, Rickie Collins didn't play much but, in limited reps, he did impress at times. Collins finished his LSU career 7-7 passing for 38 yards while rushing for another 37 yards. Given the flashes Collins showed its surprising he didn't get more snaps when Garrett Nussmeier went down but, LSU also had AJ Swann in the room.
It'll be interesting to see how Rickie Collins fares this season and whether or not he sticks at Syracuse long term or if he tries to use this season to propel himself back to a top program.
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