Breaking down the future of LSU’s quarterback room after Walker Howard’s departure
Walker Howard was billed as the future of LSU. Even before the coaching change, before the arrival of Brian Kelly or Jayden Daniels, Howard was the guy.
That story has taken a turn. On Wednesday, Howard entered the transfer portal.
An LSU quarterback entering the portal isn’t a surprise. Fans have speculated for months despite Kelly stating he thought the room would remain intact through the spring.
Howard was not expected to compete for the starting job in 2023. With Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier sticking around, Howard was at least a year away.
From that standpoint, the move makes sense. But if Howard remained a Tiger, it’s not hard to see a scenario where he cruised to the starting job in 2024 or 2025 if Nussmeier left early, whether through the portal or the draft.
LSU’s still in a good spot with Daniels and Nussmeier. Here’s where LSU’s QB room stands now and where it could go moving forward.
Glass half-full
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Howard’s name entering the portal was met with disappointment from some fans on Twitter. I get it. Howard was billed as the next big thing at LSU. He’s the rare blue-chip recruit this program landed at quarterback AND he’s from Louisiana.
He’s been committed to LSU since 2020 and stuck to his pledge through the coaching change. It’s still not time to panic.
Howard was a third-string quarterback this year and would have been in the same spot next year. I know QB discussions require more nuance than that, but at the end of the day, that matters.
It’s hard to complain about losing a third-string quarterback in this era. The transfer portal exists and these guys are going to go where they’re wanted. Howard saw the writing on the wall — that it was going to be another year of not playing — and choose to look for a better opportunity.
Did LSU lose its QB of the future? I don’t know. It also doesn’t matter.
You can try and plan the future of the QB position, but it’s futile to say, “This guy’s gonna play in ’23, then this guy in ’24, followed by this guy in ’25.”
We also don’t even know how good Howard is. He’s not a sure-fire prospect like Trevor Lawrence was. LSU isn’t losing a guy who was the top recruit in the country.
He was a consensus top-100 player, but that doesn’t make it a guarantee, especially at quarterback.
Here’s a list of the top 10 QBs from the 2020 class.
Bryce Young
D.J. Uiagalelei
C.J. Stroud
Hudson Card
Ja’Quinden Jackson
Luke Doty
Harrison Bailey
Ethan Garbers
Haynes King
Jay Butterfield
Of those 10, only Young and Stroud turned into stars.
Howard could be a star. He could also end up bouncing around from place to place. You just never know, and losing a backup QB when you have two good ones on the roster isn’t cause for concern.
Glass half-empty
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Now we can talk about the negatives. Despite LSU being in a good spot, you could draw up a scenario where the situation deteriorates.
If Nussmeier feels Daniels has locked up the job in the spring, he could leave too, making [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] the backup in the fall and delivering a huge blow to LSU’s depth.
That would also cause some trouble in 2024. LSU would have to look in the portal for a bonafide QB unless Collins was ready by then.
If Daniels or Nussmeier got hurt, that would also cause the same depth issue. With Howard, you had a guy that might have been ready to compete at a high level this year.
This is a pure hypothetical at this point, but I don’t think LSU fans would be happy if Howard went and lit the world on fire somewhere else. Again, the negatives all take some imagination, which is a good thing for LSU.
Rickie Collins' future
Rickie Collins. LIKE THAT. 😎 pic.twitter.com/fKi8mmAreQ
— Woodlawn Football (@WHSFootballTeam) November 12, 2022
More eyes will now be on the development of Collins. Collins is a talented but raw prospect. He’s athletic and was Rivals’ third-ranked dual-threat in the class.
He’s going to need a couple of years to develop. His 247Sports scouting report states that he has the potential to outperform his projection.
The odds are against Collins being a star. That doesn’t mean he won’t be, but just based on the math, QBs with his recruitment ratings aren’t going to be first-round picks.
Kelly, [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag] know what they’re doing with quarterbacks and Collins will be their first real development test at LSU.
Future recruits
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
LSU has a pledge from a blue-chip QB in its 2024 class — [autotag]Colin Hurley[/autotag].
Hurley’s arrival on the heels of Collins gives LSU blue chips in consecutive classes. That’s what you need to do, because like you saw with Howard, these QBs can leave at any moment.
The best way to protect against that is with volume — just bring in as many good players as possible.
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