Colin Hurley update: Frank Wilson addresses LSU QB's status after stepping away from team

LSU quarterback Colin Hurley didn’t travel with the team to Alabama for their Week 11 showdown against the Crimson Tide. Hurley wasn’t on the sidelines for LSU’s 23-22 win over Arkansas on Saturday, either. On Monday, LSU interim coach Frank Wilson provided an update on Hurley’s status with the team.

“He took a leave of personal-related matters. It is temporary right now, at this time,” Wilson said.

With Hurley not with the team Saturday, LSU’s Michael Van Buren was the only active scholarship quarterback available for the Tigers against Arkansas. QB Garrett Nussmeier was ruled out before the game due to a torso injury.

Thankfully for LSU, Van Buren escaped the game unscathed. In the win, he completed 21-of-his-31 pass attempts for 221 yards and a touchdown, without throwing an interception. Van Buren also recorded 36 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Colin Hurley redshirted as a true freshman last season. He was only 16 years old when he enrolled at LSU in January of 2024. Hurley was the No. 337 overall player and No. 23 QB in the 2024 recruiting cycle, according to Rivals Industry Rankings.

With Hurley away from the team and Nussmeier injured, LSU running back Ju’Juan Johnson is taking reps at QB at practice. If Van Buren needs a substitute, Johnson will be available, along with freshman QB Emile [Picarella].

“We’ve got a guy who went through the entire spring with us in Ju’Juan Johnson at quarterback all the way into fall camp, who we’ve been constantly still working as Garrett’s injury started to reveal itself even more to have an emergency plan,” Frank Wilson said. “We feel confident about that.

“We feel confident about Emile [Picarella] being able to step in and get us out of the game if we needed to do so. So, we have a contingency plan that we feel confident in.”

On Saturday, LSU will square off against Western Kentucky. On Monday, Wilson revealed Garrett Nussmeier’s current status for the game.

“I know he’s going to want to [play],” Wilson said. “We’re going to defer to our medical staff, our trainers, our doctors, to do what’s best for him. If there’s any way he can, I know he’s going to want to do so, but I don’t have those answers just yet.”

The Tigers will take on the Hilltoppers at 6:45 p.m. CT. The game will air live on the SEC Network.