A young, dual-threat quarterback is headed to Central New York….maybe???
UPDATE (8:20 pm ET): Collins posted on his Instagram profile that he has not officially committed yet. The Daily Orange’s Justin Girshon reported that Collins was reposting tweets referencing his transfer to Syracuse but has since taken them down.
Rickie Collins Jr. just posted this on his Instagram story. He had previously reposted posts of his transfer to Syracuse but took all of those down. pic.twitter.com/VNBz44cgAc
— Justin Girshon (@JustinGirshon) December 19, 2024
(Original story below)
The Syracuse Orange appear to have a new quarterback in the mix to replace Kyle McCord. Syracuse.com’s Brent Axe reported on Wednesday afternoon that former LSU quarterback Rickie Collins will transfer to Syracuse. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native will have three years of eligibility left.
It looks like @CuseFootball has landed a QB out of the portal. A source with knowledge tells me LSU QB Rickie Collins Jr. will commit to Syracuse. Collins visited Syracuse last week https://t.co/Kri1SnTXr4
— Brent Axe (@BrentAxeMedia) December 18, 2024
Collins reportedly visited Syracuse on December 10. He has only played four games in his LSU career over two seasons. He went 2-2 passing for three yards in his first year with the Tigers and 5-5 passing for 35 yards in his second year. He rushed three times for 19 yards in his first year at LSU and four times for 18 yards in his second year.
Collins was a consensus four-star and top-20 quarterback recruit coming out of Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge. He was a finalist for the Elite 11 quarterback camp in 2022.
Syracuse was reportedly in contention for both Collins and Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter. The Liberty QB visited Syracuse last week but committed to joining Colorado earlier on Wednesday morning. Virginia quarterback transfer Anthony Colandrea also reportedly visited Syracuse this past weekend.
The Syracuse quarterback room currently consists of two returning scholarship players in Michael Johnson Jr. and Jakhari Williams. The Orange added two quarterback on early signing day in Rich Belin from New York and Luke Carney from Texas.
There are also unconfirmed reports that say the Orange are applying to get a waiver for Kyle McCord to return for an extra year in college. McCord led the nation in passing yards with 4,326 yards. That mark set a new Syracuse single-season passing yards record.
Syracuse concludes its 2024 season and first year under Fran Brown’s leadership with an appearance in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on December 27. Kickoff is set for 8:00 pm ET on FOX.