3 takeaways from Rickie Collins commitment to LSU Football

LSU football completed the flip of the four-star quarterback Rickie Collins who was committed to Purdue until recently. 

It’s been a great summer for LSU football on the recruiting trail and things got even better on Wednesday night as the Tigers completed the flip of four-star QB Rickie Collins.

LSU football missed out on a number of other QB targets in the 2023 class such as Arch Manning and Dante Moore. But the Tigers recently shifted focus to Collins, who is ranked 177th overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings.

The 6-foot-2 190-pound quarterback is one that a number of Power-5 programs were interested in trying to flip from Purdue. He’s from Baton Rouge and is the 13th-ranked quarterback in 2023 and a huge addition to Kelly and company.

Here’s more on that as we look at three takeaways from Colls committing to the Tigers.

Give Brian Kelly credit

For some reason, Kelly had a reputation as someone who wasn’t a great recruiter when he was the head coach at Notre Dame. Last season, the Irish had a top-10 class but much of the credit went to Marcus Freeman, and early in 2023, the Tigers weren’t on fire.

Yet, they have been huge winners in the past month or so. LSU football landed a bunch of commitments in July and including a pair of top-40 wideouts, as well as 10 total recruits ranked in the top 200.

One thing the Tigers were missing was a quarterback and now, thanks to the flipping of Collins, the Tigers have that too. They also have the No. 6 class in 2023 as well according to the 247 team rankings for 2023.

Collins is insurance/depth for the future

Collins isn’t viewed as a sure thing like Arch Manning, Dante Moore, or Malachi Nelson. But he’s still one of the most physically talented quarterbacks in the 2023 class and it’s going to be fun to see what Kelly can do with him. Here’s part of his scouting report from 247 sports:

"“Raw physically gifted quarterback that will need time to develop at the next level but possesses all the tools necessary to become an elite level player. Will need to clean up mechanics from feet up but all aspects of his game that are coachable. More of an athlete at the quarterback position than a quarterback at this point in his career but will benefit from two years of development before seeing significant playing time. Projects as a high-level multi-year starter with the ability to outperform his projection at the next level.”"

The QB position is one where the Irish were somewhat limited and Kelly never really had any superstars at the position. There is a three-way battle for the starting job right now and Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels is expected to start, although Walker Howard and Garrett Nussmeier are in the mix too.

Collins could be in the mix sooner rather than later. But with a year or two of development, he could be ready to take over for Howard, who is assumed to be the starter in 2023.

Tigers back among recruiting elite

Kelly was known as an offensive guru before his Notre Dame teams became known more for defense, but the way the Tigers have recruited on offense has been impressive.

The Tigers landed two wide receivers (Jalen Brown, Shelton Sampson) in the top seven at their position, as well as a top-five running back (Kaleb Jackson), another running back ranked in the top 13, as well as a top-10 tight end (Mac Markway), plus a four-star, top-20 offensive tackle.

The Tigers not only have the No. 6 overall class, behind only Georgia and Alabama in the SEC, but they have re-established themselves as a recruiting power and now, the objective is to do the same thing on the field.