Seth Collins transfers to Northern Illinois, will sit out 2016

Despite what 247Sports put them in their rankings, we really liked what Northern Illinois was able to get on National Signing Day. Sometimes that day gets built up with so much hype that we forget that more players are out there trying to find a new home, like the former Oregon State quarterback who announced that he'd be leaving the program late January. Yesterday, they made it official -- that Seth Collins is coming to DeKalb.

Fired up to announce @_SethTheGreat has joined the Huskie Family! Another great player in the '16 Class! #NSD2016 pic.twitter.com/ASumNXtUlo

— Rod Carey (@niucoachcarey) February 4, 2016

A San Diego, California native, Collins was an early enrollee for Oregon State's 2015 signing class to participate in Spring practices. 247Sports listed Collins as a 3-star prospect out of high school and was the starting quarterback for the Beavers after he produced 244 total yards of offense with a pair of passing touchdowns in the season opener against Weber State. Starting in seven games, he'd miss four games with a knee injury before coming back for the season finale against Oregon where he played wide receiver, still managing to get three rushing touchdowns.

Collins finished the season as the team's leader in rushing yards (580), completed about 52 percent of his throws for 935 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions. He'd get to the end zone eight times on the ground.

Collins will have to sit out the 2016 season on a redshirt due to NCAA transfer rules, meaning the dual-threat quarterback will have three seasons to play starting with the 2017 campaign.