Rob Bolden Robert Craig " Rob " Bolden , Jr . ( born February 20 , 1992 ) is an American football quarterback for the LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University . After attending St . Mary ' s Preparatory School in Orchard Lake , Michigan , he played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2010 to 2011 . Recruitment . Bolden committed to Penn State University on July 10 , 2009 . He also had football scholarship offers from the University of Oregon , Virginia Tech , the University of Wisconsin , and the University of Nebraska , among others . College career . Penn State . After arriving on campus in June , Bolden beat out two sophomores , Kevin Newsome and Matt McGloin , and another highly recruited freshman , Paul Jones , to win the starting quarterback job for the first game of the 2010 season against Youngstown State . Bolden became the first true freshman quarterback under head coach Joe Paterno to start the opening game of the season , and the first since Wally Richardson in 1992 to start any game of their freshman season . Bolden was also the first true freshman quarterback at Penn State to start the season since Shorty Miller in 1910 . On his decision to name Bolden as the starting quarterback , Paterno said , " He has got an arm , he ' s got a little poise , he did some things a little better than the other guys on more occasions . There are days I came off the field not knowing who I wanted to play . " Bolden played his first collegiate football game on September 4 , 2010 , for the Nittany Lions in the season opener against Youngstown State . Despite a shaky beginning , Bolden exhibited an overall solid performance in Penn State ' s 44 - 14 rout of Youngstown State , finishing 20 - 29 for 239 yards passing for two touchdowns and one interception . Against Alabama , he went 13 - for - 29 for 144 yards , but two red zone interceptions marred the Nittany Lions ' chances in the 24 – 3 loss . Bolden finished 12 - of - 27 for 217 yards , one touchdown , and two interceptions in a 24 – 0 shutout of Kent State . Against Temple , he went 18 - for - 28 for 223 yards and no touchdowns . Against Iowa , Bolden went 20 - of - 37 for 212 yards and an interception . Penn State lost the game 24 - 3 after Bolden threw an interception that went for an opposing touchdown at the end of the game . Bolden went 8 - for - 21 for 142 yards , one touchdown , and one interception against Illinois . He threw an 80 - yard play - action touchdown pass following his second pick six of the year . Against Minnesota , he rebounded , going 11 - for - 13 for 130 yards and one touchdown before suffering an injury on an option play . He was pulled from the game with a concussion and was relieved by McGloin , who went 6 - for - 13 for 76 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in his place . McGloin was named the starting quarterback following three straight wins in Bolden ' s absence , including the comeback win against Minnesota . On January 2 , 2011 , Rob Bolden Sr . announced his son ' s plans to transfer out of Penn State . On January 3 , Bolden and his father met with head coach Paterno and quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno in State College , Pennsylvania , to discuss the transfer . Joe Paterno informed Bolden that he would not grant a release from his scholarship . Bolden decided to then stay at Penn State and not transfer . On January 2 , 2012 , Bolden started in the place of McGloin , who had been injured in a locker room fight with teammate Curtis Drake , in the TicketCity Bowl against Houston . Bolden and the Nittany Lions struggled and lost 30 – 14 . Bolden completed 7 - of - 26 passes for 137 yards , one touchdown pass , and three interceptions . He also rushed six times for 16 yards . In the first depth chart released by new head coach Bill O ' Brien after spring practices , Bolden was listed as the third - string quarterback , behind McGloin and Jones . After being released from his scholarship , Bolden took an official visit to LSU on July 29 , 2012 . Because of the NCAA ' s sanctions on Penn State in the wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal , Bolden was free to transfer to any FBS program without limitation . LSU . Bolden announced his decision to transfer to LSU on August 1 , 2012 . He will battle Stephen Rivers for the backup quarterback job behind Zach Mettenberger .