Tag: Rickie Collins

Elite Louisiana prospect opens up committment

Ju’Juan Johnson has reopened his recruitment after the former Colorado commit took a visit to Boulder.

One of LSU’s top targets has reopened his commitment.

Four-star DB [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag] decommitted from Colorado following a visit over the weekend.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Johnson is the sixth-best prospect in Louisiana’s 2024 class. From Lafayette, Johnson has earned offers from many of the country’s top programs.

LSU was in hot pursuit before Johnson committed to Deion Sanders at Colorado. With the recruitment back open, LSU could hop right back in the race.

We’ve seen several LSU recruiting battles play out in a similar way before. A top prospect commits to go out of state before flipping to stay home later in the cycle.

[autotag]Ja’Marr Chase[/autotag] is one example. More recently, we saw it with QB [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] last year.

LSU has a strong connection with Johnson’s high school, Lafayette Christian Academy.

LCA’s head coach is [autotag]Trev Faulk[/autotag], a former LSU linebacker and cousin of LSU legend [autotag]Kevin Faulk[/autotag].

Current Tigers [autotag]Sage Ryan[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag] were all LCA prospects.

It’ll take some time to get a feel for where LSU stands with Johnson, but the Tigers have as good a chance as anyone to keep the blue-chip prospect at home.

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Instant analysis from LSU’s 2023 spring game

You can only learn so much from spring, but the Tigers checked the main boxes in Saturday’s exhibition.

We got our first look at the 2023 LSU team on Saturday as the team took the field at Tiger Stadium for a scrimmage after going through warmups and some situational drills.

With the offense pitted against the defense, the game finished in a 32-32 tie, but quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] impressed leading the first-team offense, completing 10 of 11 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

He started the game on a high note, finding [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag] for a 70-yard touchdown after Lacy made a fantastic one-handed catch on the first play from scrimmage. Daniels also found true freshman running back Trey Holly, who also led all running backs with 26 yards, on a touchdown pass out of the backfield.

While Daniels and the starters looked good, [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] did a fine job working with the second team unit. He completed five of eight passes for 139 yards, and he had two touchdowns of his own.

One went to [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] — who finished second behind Lacy in receiving with 66 yards on three catches — on an in route in the end zone. He also found [autotag]Landon Ibieta[/autotag] on a nice catch-and-run play.

Defensively, several newcomers were impressive. Oregon transfer [autotag]Bradyn Swinson[/autotag] had a sack as did early enrollee true freshman [autotag]Jaxon Howard[/autotag]. True freshman linebacker [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag], younger brother of [autotag]West Weeks[/autotag], took an interception off true freshman quarterback [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] to the house.

Collins struggled in his first action, completing just three of seven passes for 25 yards and no touchdowns. He did show off his mobility, however. He wasn’t wearing a non-contact jersey and went for 19 yards on five carries.

Only so much can be learned from a spring game, but the Tigers looked as solid as you would hope entering Brian Kelly’s second season. Stay tuned to LSU Wire for more content from the Tigers’ spring game.

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WATCH: True freshman Whit Weeks takes interception to the house in LSU’s spring game

It was true freshman vs. true freshman violence as Rickie Collins tossed a pick-six to Weeks.

There was some true freshman vs. true freshman violence late in the first quarter of LSU’s spring game on Saturday.

With Baton Rouge native [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] — a mobile passer who was not wearing a red non-contact jersey — under center, [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag] made a play on a questionably thrown ball.

After bobbling it momentarily, he secured the interception. Forty yards later, Weeks reached paydirt as he gave the defense a 14-7 lead.

The four-star early enrollee from Watkinsville, Georgia, is the younger brother of his teammate and fellow linebacker [autotag]West Weeks[/autotag], who joined as a transfer from Virginia last season.

Whit finds himself a bit buried on the depth chart in the linebacker group, but with plays like this, he could see some early playing time this fall.

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LSU hosts elite five-star 2025 quarterback for weekend visit

The Tigers will hope they can make a strong impression on Brentwood Academy (Tenn.) passer George MacIntyre.

Even with a solid quarterback outlook in the coming years, you can never neglect to add talent at the position, which has become even more crucial in the transfer portal era.

With that in mind, LSU is targeting several of the top signal-callers in the 2025 cycle, and it hosted one of them on campus this weekend in five-star Brentwood Academy (Tenn.) prospect [autotag]George MacIntyre[/autotag].

The 6-foot-5 prospect ranks as the No. 30 overall player in the 2025 class, per the 247Sports Composite, and he’s the No. 3 quarterback. He picked up an offer from LSU on March 10, one of several recent big-time offers he’s landed.

In addition to the three scholarship quarterbacks currently on the roster — [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] and [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] — LSU also has a commitment from 2024 blue-chip passer [autotag]Colin Hurley[/autotag], who reclassified from 2025.

With some attrition between now and MacIntyre’s signing all but inevitable, LSU will look to add another quarterback in that class, and MacIntyre would be an elite option.

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LSU among this trending 2025 quarterback’s ‘big 3’

The Tigers are one of several schools making an impression on 2025 signal-caller Carter Smith.

LSU has a pretty solid outlook at the quarterback position with [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] and [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] already on the roster and [autotag]Colin Hurley[/autotag] set to arrive next year as a 2024 signee.

Still, you always need to be thinking abut the long-term, especially at the quarterback position and in the transfer portal era. With that in mind, the Tigers are one of several programs making a push for Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot signal-caller [autotag]Carter Smith[/autotag].

A bit of a late bloomer, even for a rising high school junior, Smith received his first offer from Florida A&M back in October and has since received more than a dozen offers, including several from power conference teams.

There’s a lot of time before he signs on the dotted line, but he told On3 that LSU is among his “big three” alongside Florida State and Ole Miss. He grew up an LSU fan due to family in Louisiana, and he has had contact with quarterbacks coach [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag], who is looking to bring him in for either a spring or summer visit.

Smith is not currently ranked on the 247Sports Composite, nor according to On3, but that is likely to change given the caliber of offers he has received. LSU will hope to remain in the mix for him as his recruitment proceeds.

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Where does LSU’s future quarterback outlook rank among college football teams?

Looking at Jayden Daniels and beyond, LSU is in a good spot under center.

After two seasons of struggling to find answers at the quarterback position after [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag] left for the NFL, LSU seems to have finally found some consistency.

[autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] had something of a breakout season in 2022, becoming one of the SEC’s top signal-callers. He’ll be back in 2023 and has the chance to be even better for a Tigers team looking to raise its ceiling.

This season is going to be Daniels’ last with LSU, but even after he moves on, the position looks promising. [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] has impressed when given the chance, and if he sticks around, he should have the inside track to start in 2024.

Whether he stays or decides to go elsewhere, the Tigers still have a pair of blue chips for the future in early enrollee [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] and four-star 2024 commit [autotag]Colin Hurley[/autotag], who reclassified from 2025.

All in all, ESPN ranks LSU’s future quarterback outlook as 12th in the country.

2022 ranking: 16
Returning starter: Jayden Daniels

LSU projects well at quarterback through 2025, especially with Daniels returning after an encouraging first season as a Tiger. The Arizona State transfer had career highs for completion percentage (68.3), rushing yards (885) and rushing touchdowns (11), while nearly matching his 2019 total for passing yards (2,913). He reduced his interceptions total from 10 in his final season at ASU to just three last fall. Daniels will be working with the same offensive coordinator (Mike Denbrock) and quarterbacks coach (Joe Sloan) in his final college season.

The quarterback room changed a bit as Walker Howard, ESPN’s No. 42 overall prospect in 2022, transferred to Ole Miss. But Garrett Nussmeier has remained and will enter his third season after passing for 800 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions last fall. If Nussmeier stays at LSU, he’s the likely successor to Daniels in 2024 and possibly 2025. LSU’s coaches have been impressed by his skill set and approach. But the team also signed Rickie Collins, ESPN’s No. 199 overall recruit in the 2023 class, and has a commitment from Colin Hurley, ESPN’s No. 64 prospect for 2024.

If LSU had been able to keep Howard from entering the portal (as Kelly seemed to think would be the case based on his comments after the bowl game) the outlook would be even better, but things are still looking good at the position for the Tigers in spite of his departure.

The quarterback is the most important position on the field, and Kelly has done a good job so far of planning for the future in that regard.

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BREAKING: True freshman Tigers quarterback Walker Howard enters transfer portal

The promising young passer is moving on after one season with the Tigers.

LSU’s quarterback room took a big hit in the long term on Wednesday as true freshman quarterback [autotag]Walker Howard[/autotag] entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound passer from St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette was rated as a four-star recruit and top-50 player nationally coming out of high school by both 247Sports and On3. He spent his true freshman season third on the depth chart behind [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag], taking a redshirt.

He appeared in two games in 2022, attempting four passes — all of which came in the Citrus Bowl win over Purdue. He completed two of them for seven yards, and he totaled 33 rushing yards on six attempts on the year.

Howard committed to LSU in June 2020 and held firm through the coaching change last fall despite a late push from Florida. Despite not playing much in his first year on campus, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said after the bowl game that he expected all three scholarship quarterbacks to be with the team for the spring, including Howard.

Daniels and Nussmeier appear poised to duke it out for the starting job once more, though Kelly has reiterated that Daniels is the team’s starter. [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag], a four-star quarterback from Baton Rouge who signed with the Tigers in December, will likely take Howard’s spot on the depth chart. However, he won’t enroll until the summer and will not be with the team during spring practice.

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WATCH: Tigers QB commit Rickie Collins shows off his athleticism

The Tigers’ potential quarterback of the future can create plays with his mobility.

[autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] is a four-star, 6-foot-2 quarterback from Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge. He is the Tigers’ only quarterback commit of the 2023 class, and he could be the next great signal-caller for LSU.

In this play, he shows off his athleticism as he evades a would-be sack to deliver a dart on the run to his receiver down the sideline for a big gain. Woodlawn would still fall to Lafayette Christian Academy 33-12.

Next season, LSU will probably have a huge competition at the quarterback position as [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] will have on more year eligibility, and he’ll be joined in the quarterback room by [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag], Walker Howard, and Collins.

So, we could be looking at the quarterback of the future for LSU, but only time will tell.

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Where LSU stands in the 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings after Zalance Heard’s commitment

After landing yet another top-100 prospect, the Tigers are on the rise.

The month of August may not have been as explosive on the recruiting trail for the Tigers as July was, but they were able to maintain a lot of their momentum.

Coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] added three blue-chip commits to his 2023 class: five-star wideout [autotag]Shelton Sampson Jr.[/autotag], four-star quarterback [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] and four-star athlete [autotag]Khai Prean[/autotag] — all Louisiana prospects.

Then, the Tigers kicked off September in a big way by landing offensive tackle [autotag]Zalance Heard[/autotag], another in-state prospect who is listed as a four-star by 247Sports but is a five-star according to other recruiting services.

With these pickups, here’s where Kelly’s class stands among the rest of the country per the 247Sports Composite.

Where is LSU in the latest recruiting rankings?

The Tigers are approaching a top-five class after its recruiting momentum has continued into August.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and the LSU Tigers coaching staff have had a great month of August so far. The Tigers landed four excellent prospects for the class of 2023, [autotag]Shelton Sampson Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Kylin Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] and [autotag]Khai Prean[/autotag].

So how does that affect the recruiting rankings for the Tigers?

According to the new On3 rankings, LSU has moved up to the sixth position overall and they may not be done landing commitments. [autotag]Zalance Heard[/autotag] and [autotag]Nyckoles Harbor[/autotag] are waiting in the wings.

Harbor doesn’t have a commitment date set yet, but Heard is set to commit on Sept. 1, and he is currently Crystal Balled to go to LSU. His commitment alone could move the Tigers up into the top five of the recruiting rankings.

That would be a nice present for Kelly as the season gets started next Sunday night against the Florida State Seminoles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

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