Four-star QB Rickie Collins commits to LSU: 'It came down to Joe Sloan and Brian Kelly'

Another one of the country’s best quarterbacks is officially off the board.

Four-star Baton Rouge (La.) Woodlawn quarterback Rickie Collins pledged to LSU on Wednesday night. The On3 Consensus’ No. 12-rated passer was committed to Purdue for almost 10 months before reopening his recruitment at the beginning of August. The change of heart comes on the heels of an amplified effort from Brian Kelly, Mike Denbrock and Joe Sloan, who dialed in with Collins as soon as they arrived in Baton Rouge.

“I like their vibe and the relationships there are real and the communication was there,” Collins told On3. “I like it and I have to go with what my gut is telling me and what God is giving me.”

“It’s a dream for anyone who plays football … who doesn’t want to play for their home state?” he continued. “You watch LSU play Alabama. You watch LSU upset Alabama. You go to the games, you watch them on TV, you see Odell making the plays, all Coach Randall’s highlights. It’s a blessing and a great feeling. Now, it’s time to get in, to work and get on the field and showcase my talents.”

The previous LSU regime offered Collins around this time a year ago, only for the top-200 prospect from Baton Rouge to pledge to the Boilermakers.

Sloan offered Collins as Louisiana Tech’s offensive coordinator and Kelly was on the cusp of following suit while at Notre Dame. Those relationships weighed heavily as the new LSU staff was ushered in.

“It’s the hometown and it’s a blessing to be recruited by them,” he said. “The change from Coach O to Coach Kelly, they came back into the picture, talking and continuing to talk and try to build up that relationship.”

The turning point for LSU, Collins

Over the past two months, Collins has made three separate unofficial visits to LSU to reconvene with the coaching staff and explore different aspects of his decision. This was a different coaching staff than the one that previously offered last summer.

“I was feeling them out and being there, seeing how the staff operates, feeling the vibes from everyone from the players and the coaches and ultimately, it came down to feeling myself being coached by Coach Sloan and Coach Brian Kelly,” Collins explained. “They got into late because Coach Kelly got in late. When he got adjusted, everything situated, he started recruiting me and he was one of the first guys to recruit me when he came in.”

Collins, who is tabbed as the No. 173 overall player in the country on the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.