The State of the LSU Football Quarterback Room With Recent Additions and Departures

Brian Kelly and Co. have retooled the quarterback room this month, bringing in a pivotal newcomer to the mix.

Nov 2, 2024; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. (0) reacts after a touchdown against the Massachusetts Minutemen during the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-Imagn Images / Matt Bush-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly and the LSU football staff continue retooling the roster for the 2025 season with several moving parts this month.

One position group that has seen turnover is the quarterback room after a pair of 2024 signal-callers revealed their intentions to depart Baton Rouge.

But Kelly and Co. have made the necessary moves in order to keep the unit intact headlined by starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier's return.

With a pair of returning signal-callers, two departures and a newcomer set to arrive in Baton Rouge, what is the current state of LSU's quarterback room?

The Returning Pieces: Garrett Nussmeier and Colin Hurley

Garrett Nussmeier: Redshirt-Senior

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier revealed this month that he would be returning to Baton Rouge for the 2025 season with unfinished business in the purple and gold.

Nussmeier, the Tigers' starting signal-caller in 2024, will look to build off of a productive redshirt-junior campaign for the Bayou Bengals this fall.

The Lake Charles native bypassed the 2025 NFL Draft where he had the chance to be a Top-5 quarterback taken in April.

Instead, he'll return to LSU for his final season of eligibility under Brian Kelly.

It's a monumental decision for Nussmeier with the Tigers retaining their cornerstone to the program for one more season.

“This year was a huge growth year for me,” Nussmeier said after the Oklahoma game. “I said in September I hoped I would be a better player by the end of the year than I was then and I think that has proven to be true. Our team got better throughout the year and there were things we had to fix and we improved. I’m happy for us and our team and for me personally, I continued to grow my game and I look forward to continuing to do that into the offseason.”

Now, he's a name to watch for the 2025 Heisman Trophy, according to CBS Sports' Blake Brockermeyer:

"I love his gunslinger mentality and reminds me a little of Brett Favre in that regard. He has a big arm and can throw into high windows. I expect he will be surrounded by a solid supporting cast in 2025 and should put up big numbers and on big stages.”

Colin Hurley: Redshirt-Freshman

LSU quarterback Colin Hurley remains on the roster in Baton Rouge after wrapping up his true freshman campaign with the purple and gold.

After enrolling early in January at only 16 years old, Hurley utilized his first season of college getting acclimated to new scenery.

Hurley has turned heads and has proven he can sling the ball, which has given the Tigers another promising piece in the quarterback room.

The Departures: AJ Swann and Rickie Collins

AJ Swann: Junior

LSU quarterback AJ Swann will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal after one season in Baton Rouge, he revealed via social media this week.

Swann will remain with the Tigers through their bowl game matchup against the Baylor Bears on Dec. 31 in Houston (Tex.).

The 6-foot-2, 212-pounder transferred to LSU last offseason after a pair of seasons with the Vanderbilt Commodores.

In his two seasons as a Commodore, Swann made 15 appearances and 12 starts. He started in all six games he played in during the 2023 season, tallying 1,457 passing yards and 12 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.

Fast forward to the 2024 season and Swann served as the backup for starting signal-caller Garrett Nussmeier alongside Rickie Collins and Colin Hurley.

Rickie Collins: Redshirt-Freshman

The redshirt-freshman appeared in three games during the 2024 season where he tallied 35 total yards on five passing attempts. He also logged 18 yards on four carries.

In 2023, Collins appeared in only one game during his true freshman campaign where he completed both of his passing attempts for 19 yards.

Collins utilized 2023 as a redshirt year during his first season with the LSU program.

The Louisiana native was a four-star prospect out of high school after lighting it up at Baton Rouge (La.) Woodlawn High. Collins was a Top 20 quarterback in America.

During his recruiting process, Collins was originally committed to the Purdue Boilermakers before flipping his pledge to the LSU Tigers prior to his senior campaign.

A season ago, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jayden Daniels discussed his relationship with Collins and his future ahead:

“Rickie Collins? I treat him like my little brother,” Daniels said. “Just seeing him be able to grow day in and day out. Coming in as a true freshman. Trying to just learn how to live on his own, even though he’s from Baton Rouge, but it’s different living on your own. Just how to maneuver and how to treat things professionally? (It’s) how tight we are.”

As for head coach Brian Kelly, he highlighted the development ahead for Collins:

“Rickie’s got to continue to develop because kind of what you said, when you only have three quarterbacks on scholarship, that third quarterback is so crucial for you in its development,” Kelly said.

“I’d say that I’m really pleased with the development of Daniels and Nussmeier and Rickie is kind of — we’re really pushing him hard to continue his trajectory because when you have just three, he’s in the mix, right?

Then, after 10 days officially in the NCAA Transfer Portal, Collins made his move. Brent Axe of "Syracuse.com" reports that Collins is set to head up North and join the Syracuse Orange for the 2025 season.

The Addition: Michael Van Buren

Mississippi State transfer quarterback Michael Van Buren went public with a decision to transfer to the LSU Tigers last Sunday after one season in Starkville. After starting as a true freshman for the Bulldogs, he heads to Baton Rouge for the 2025 season.

Van Buren provides LSU with a backup quarterback that has SEC experience. In 10 appearances as a true freshman in 2024, Van Buren completed 140-of-256 passes for 1,886 yards and 11 touchdowns. He added another five rushing TDs for the Bulldogs.

"When you're looking at your entire roster, you're making an incredible investment across the board. You have to look at each position and if Garrett was to go down, you have to have somebody there," Kelly said this week. "But more importantly you have to have competition at every position. Michael is going to compete with Garrett and we wanted to bring Michael in because he's somebody who has started in the SEC. 

More LSU News:

The LSU Transfer Portal Update: Who's in? Who's out?

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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