Les Miles likes physical, smash mouth, mistake-free football. His teams have played that style since before I can remember. They have consistently won games throughout Miles’ tenure by establishing an inside running game and supplementing it with timely strikes downfield to open up opposing defenses.
Sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings has made a name for himself winning games exactly like the one I just described. He might not be the quarterback LSU fans want, but he’s the one they need.
The fans want freshman quarterback Brandon Harris, but fans always gravitate toward the unknown. If they’ve seen Jennings and don’t like what they see, well dammit the next guy is better and he should be playing. It’s why the NFL Draft is one of the biggest events in the NFL now; why recruiting is such a big deal and why everyone would recognize Leonard Fournette’s face but would struggle to pick senior Kenny Hilliard out of a crowd.
When Harris walked out on the field against Auburn, he was set up for failure. And now after crashing and burning in the first start of his young career, it’s clear that while Harris has the talent, he isn’t mentally ready for this level of competition.
That’s where Jennings comes in. The much-maligned sophomore had a poor performance against New Mexico State, but if you had 100,000 people wishing you to fail as miserably as possible, you’d probably fold as well.
In every other game he’s played for the Tigers, he’s accomplished exactly what the coaches wanted him to: manage games and don’t do anything that puts the defense in a bad position. Basically, be a game manager like AJ McCarron, make the throws when you need to and hand the ball off the rest of the of time.
He’s even shown flashes of being more than a game manager, spurring the Tigers on when they needed him the most.
Excelling in clutch situations has become Jennings’ calling card.
A 99-yard, game-winning drive off the bench to save a season, a rousing comeback against Wisconsin and now a game-tying drive against one of the best defenses in the Southeastern Conference are already part of Jennings’ young career.
He ranks No. 9 on the list of NCAA quarterbacks who have engineered game-winning drives. And he’s only played nine games in the purple and gold.
Fans asking more from a true sophomore are spoiled and delusional — basically your typical LSU football fan.
Jennings was never going to come in and sling it around the field like former LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger.
Mettenberger had the luxury of playing alongside three skill position players who all scored a touchdown in the NFL last Sunday. Few quarterbacks in the nation have those kinds of weapons at their disposal.
Tiger fans have seemingly forgotten Mettenberger’s first season as a starter in Baton Rouge, when the LSU offense struggled moving the ball, but could rely on a stacked defense to keep them in games.
Avoiding any further damage to Harris’ confidence must be paramount to Miles’ cause for the rest of the season. By throwing him in before he is ready — clear after his stinker against Auburn — Miles and company run the risk of damaging his confidence so severely that he won’t be able to bounce back.
And if Harris would have struggled as badly as he did against Auburn at home, the fans would have booed him just as mercilessly. Imagine if Harris had to trudge off the field after yet another three-and-out, all the while being booed as if he had just beheaded Mike the Tiger in the middle of the field. That’s what Jennings experienced three weeks ago.
Using Jennings maximizes what the Tigers do best. As they showed against Florida, when lining up in large formations and pounding the ball, LSU can wear down opposing defenses with its deep stable of running backs and by keeping its struggling defense off the field for as long as possible.
Jennings may never become the Mettenberger-esque quarterback LSU fans want, but by continuing to perform when it matters and winning games in the clutch he can be just the type of quarterback the Tigers need while their young talent matures.
Trey Labat is a 22-year-old history senior from Mandeville, Louisiana. You can reach Trey on Twitter @treylabat_TDR.