Colin Hurley was 'wanted' by LSU, reclassifies to 2024 class

There’s always been something different about Colin Hurley.

On Friday, he elevated that reputation to a new level with a decision to commit to LSU and reclassify into the 2024 recruiting class. Hurley, who has engineered Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity to a pair of state championships in his first two seasons as the starting quarterback and has them poised to three-peat again this winter, has routinely made the decision-making process seam simple.

LSU made an immediate and lasting impression in Hurley’s recruitment early on, including camp this summer when Brian Kelly’s staff viewed the now-sophomore as one of the most polished passers in a group littered with upperclassmen. Kelly, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan courted Hurley as if he was a top priority regardless of his class. Now, the Tigers have their guy for 2024.

“Since the first time I met the coaching staff at LSU, we hit it off. Our relationship has only grown since then,” Hurley told On3. “We got comfortable and that’s what I felt like I wanted in a school. The quarterback play at LSU shows me that there’s good development in the quarterback room. I like Coach Denbrock, Coach Sloan and Coach Kelly, and I feel like it’s the right place for me.

“They feel like family to me. I feel comfortable with them. They love me as a person and I like that they’re gonna develop me to win a national title and to be great in the NFL.”

LSU recruited Hurley from Kelly on down

The Hurleys only visited a handful of schools consistently from the spring on. That group included LSU, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Miami and Florida.

Hurley was a top priority in-state for both Billy Napier’s staff at Florida and Mario Cristobal’s staff at Miami. A Miami native, Hurley seamlessly gravitated out-of-state toward the Tigers.

“He’s handled this thing beyond the expectations of myself and many others,” Colin’s father, Charlie Hurley, told On3. “I couldn’t be more proud of my son.”

“To go into the state of Florida and take him, when Alabama was high on him, so was Georgia and Ole Miss, Lincoln Riley was calling about him … LSU did something right.”

It was the staffwide approach from Kelly on down. Hurley built strong relationships with the coaches and garnered attention from the entire LSU staff.

“Brian Kelly and LSU can recruit,” Charlie continued. “Everyone stayed in touch with Colin, but he and LSU spoke daily. If not daily, every other day. He would tell me he spoke to someone from LSU, Colin and Sloan, Colin and BK, Colin and Jordan (Arcement), Colin and Destiny (Wilson), Colin and JR (Jon Randall Belton), Colin and Denbrock.”

“They made him feel wanted,” his father added. “That was a huge plus.”

Hurley was LSU’s top choice in 2024

LSU was focused in on a handful of top-shelf passers in the 2024 cycle. Their sights were set on four-stars DJ Lagway, Julian Sayin and Jadyn Davis, but reshuffled the board with the possibility that Hurley could reclassify into next year’s group.

Hurley, the No. 2-rated quarterback and No. 23 overall player in the On3 Consensus for 2025, has been trending toward LSU since turning the staffs’ heads at camp this summer, namely Kelly.

“Coach Kelly definitely knows how to win ball games,” Hurley said. “He’s developed quite a few NFL quarterbacks, including Ian Book, who has only told me good things about BK. He’s a great quarterback developer, he runs a great offensive scheme, but most of all he cares about the person, how you act off the field and what you do in the community. That played a special part not just for me, but my family as well.”