When starting the 2014 season, the LSU football team never imagined its fan base would escalate to the frustration it verbally displayed after the team’s loss to Arkansas on Nov. 15.
Fans on Twitter expressed their displeasures with sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings after his poor showing against the Razorbacks. The tweets ranged from asking the quarterback to be benched to threats on his life.
Jennings has struggled all year, completing only 47.9 percent of his passes for 1,353 yards while throwing six interceptions. He has thrown for a total of 163 yards in his past two games while failing to get an efficiency rating of more than 88.
Jennings’ performance on the field during the Tigers’ latest two-game losing streak has led to problems off the field.
The 6-foot-2 Marietta, Georgia, native received copious amounts of criticism on social media since the Tigers’ shutout loss to Arkansas, with fans criticizing the quarterback for his lack of production.
The threats and outbursts by fans calling for his starting job have been well-documented for the past couple weeks, but Jennings said he isn’t worried about what some fans have to say.
“I could care less of fan criticism either good or bad — it’s not who we are,” Jennings said. “In the building, the coaches, my teammates, the guys around me, those are the guys that really matter, and those guys off the field or anything like that don’t really matter in my process of getting better as a teammate, a player and a person.”
The criticism toward Jennings isn’t new. Fans have been calling for backup freshman quarterback Brandon Harris all season. 
The first outlash toward Jennings this season was during the Tigers’ 63-7 blowout victory against New Mexico State in Tiger Stadium on Sept. 27. The stadium’s student section burst out into a “We want Harris!” chant after Jennings stayed in the game following three turnovers on the Tigers’ first four possessions.
Since the game against New Mexico State, Tiger fans haven’t been shy about sharing their displeasures with the quarterback controversy. They even created a #FreeBrandonHarris trend on Twitter during the Arkansas game.
“I’m ignoring that. It doesn’t really affect me at all,” Jennings said. “People are going to talk even if you have a great game. They’re still going to be like ‘Okay there’s still things you need to get better at,’ so there’s no reason to buy into any of that. People in the building are all that really matter.”
And the people inside LSU’s Football Operations Building are supporting their struggling play-caller.
Senior fullback Connor Neighbors said he’s fully behind Jennings and said he’s upset with how the fans have reacted to his struggles.
“To those people who do that obviously, they need to re-evaluate how they think of themselves, and maybe they should pull for a different team,” Neighbors said. “We don’t need any of that, we don’t want any of that, and if you’re going to be with us you’re going to have to be with us through thick and thin. But Jennings, he just brushes it off because he doesn’t care. People who are like that, they don’t matter to him, and they don’t matter to us. We could care less.”
Sophomore wide receiver Travin Dural said Jennings has done nothing but ignore the hate, even using it to fuel better play during practice.
“I would say [the criticism has motivated him],” Dural said. “These past couple of days he has been having real great practices. He’s looking real hungry.”
The quarterback controversy between two young, inexperienced players has put a cloud over the Tigers’ passing offense throughout their 2014 season. But Jennings said even with the displeasures from the fan base, he acknowledges he needs to improve to get the passing game back on track.
“I think it’s a mix of things, but I take it upon myself to correct that and get that fixed,” Jennings said. “Just making better decisions with the football, putting the ball where it needs to be, running when I have to and throwing the ball away when I have to. I think the problems with the passing game, it’s more me than anybody else.”
 You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @chascin_TDR.