With fall camp being just around the corner, LSU football most recently named backup quarterback Rickie Collins as the latest “Freak of the Week,” honoring his efforts throughout summer conditioning.
LSU football backup quarterback Rickie Collins honored as latest “Freak of the Week”
The future is bright for the LSU football quarterback room.
Having just put 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels into the NFL this offseason, Garrett Nussmeier is set to take over as the head signal caller in 2024 and is already finding himself in the heart of high draft selection consideration.
As impressive as that might be, it’s important to keep in mind that because of said consideration, it’ll be important to keep an eye to the future of the Tiger quarterback room. Luckily, if this offseason has been any indication at all, the drop-off might not be as significant as many fans are currently expecting.
Entering just his second year with the program, redshirt freshman Rickie Collins out of Baton Rouge, LA, continues to beat expectations, not only competing for second-string, but most recently being honored as the latest LSU “Freak of the Week” ahead of fall camp.
Summer camp first started up in early June, giving opportunity to younger and veteran players alike to improve their strength and conditioning ahead of the fall, where they’ll spend far more time on drills and working as a team before the season opener against the USC Trojans in late August.
While your performance in summer conditioning won’t exactly win you a starting job by any means, it can certainly give you a leg up on your competition, and there have been several up-and-coming stars who have used it to make a name for themselves thus far. Along with Collins, Chris Hilton Jr, Ashton Stamps, PJ Woodland, Gabriel Reliford, Will Campbell and Mason Taylor have all earned the honor as well.
2024 outlook for the rising redshirt freshman signal caller
Standing at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Rickie Collins came into the LSU football program as a four-star class of 2023 quarterback recruit out of Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge, LA.
Having thrown for 3,442 yards and 33 touchdowns in his final two seasons at the high school level, he wasn’t necessarily the most dominant recruit from a productivity standpoint, but he more than showed the potential as an overall signal caller, possessing impressive arm strength to go along with sneaky good mobility.
While he isn’t necessarily likely to see the field too much in 2024, he notably found his way into a bit of a competition for the second-string spot in the quarterback room, which could lead him to some unexpected playing time in the chance of any injuries or blowout victories.
Overall, the big thing to keep an eye on with Collins this coming season is overall development. Five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood is currently committed to the purple and gold class of 2025 and is set to make his way to Baton Rouge from Belleville, MI next season.
Currently sitting as the No. 1 player in the country, it’s not hard to see him coming in and immediately competing for starting snaps, so Collins will need to find every advantage he can if he hopes to hold strong as the next man up.
The 2024 LSU football season is set to get going one month from now on September 1, 2024, in Las Vegas, NV vs. the USC Trojans at 6:30 p.m. CST. While it isn’t particularly expected that Collins will make an appearance in the season opener, if this week’s “Freak of the Week” honor is any indication, he’ll at the very least be ready if his number is called upon.
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