LSU logo from sportslogos.net
The 2023 college football season is right around the corner, which means it is officially time to start breaking down position groups for our local teams.
Over the next three and a half weeks, I will look at each position group for LSU, Louisiana, and McNeese to see where they have strengths, weaknesses, and an overall assessment.
First up, the quarterback room for Brian Kelly’s LSU Tigers. This was a strong suit for LSU in 2022 with Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels leading the charge.
The question now is: how do they go to the next level?
Jayden Daniels
Daniels came to Baton Rouge after starting three seasons at Arizona State. After appearing in 29 games for the Sun Devils, it was known that he could start. But the question was how would he perform in the toughest conference in college football?
I’d say he played pretty well.
Daniels led LSU to a 10-4 season, including an appearance in the SEC Championship Game and a Cheez-it Bowl victory. He completed 69% of his passes on the year (266-388) for 2,913, 17 touchdowns, and just three interceptions.
He had a historic season on the ground as well, setting new program records for rushing yards (885) and rushing touchdowns (11) by a quarterback. He also broke the record for most total touchdowns in a game (6), previously set by Joe Burrow with five.
It has been rumored in the offseason that Daniels has spent a lot of time working on the vertical passing game, so look for the Tigers to air it out a bit more in 2023 with weapons like Malik Nabers, Kyren Lacy, Aaron Anderson, and more lining up in the offensive formation. Daniels is also headed into 2023 as the highest-ranked SEC quarterback by multiple outlets and an early favorite for the Heisman Trophy.
Garrett Nussmeier
When you look at the landscape of college football, it’s hard to find a better backup than Garrett Nussmeier.
“Nuss” was strong in his appearances in 2022, completing 62% of his passes for 800 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions. Over half of his 800 yards came in the final two games against Georgia in the SEC title game (294) and the Cheez-It Bowl (173).
Nussmeier is a gunslinger type of quarterback that has grown up in an NFL locker room so it’s not a surprise when people say he could be starting at most programs in the country. However, he’s been very patient with the addition of Daniels in 2022 and knows that he’ll get the keys to the program beginning in 2024 for his final two years of college eligibility.
One of his biggest flaws is he sometimes forces his throws too often, which leads to unnecessary turnovers. Hopefully, his time behind Daniels will fix that and helps him gain patience in the pocket and more trust in his receivers.
Rickie Collins
The future is bright for Rickie Collins.
A star in high school at Woodlawn in Baton Rouge, Collins enrolled in January and went through spring camp with LSU, going 3-7 in the spring game while rushing for 19 yards.
We haven’t seen a whole lot from Collins yet, but his high school tape shows a prototypical dual-threat quarterback that can do both very well. He threw for nearly 1600 yards and ran for 600 yards during his senior season while combining for 23 touchdowns.
In the age of the transfer portal, it will be hard to keep Collins in purple and gold. However, if LSU can keep him, he’ll be exciting to watch for years to come.