Stop me if this sounds familiar: LSU needs to find a quarterback who can win it football games for the team to compete for a championship next season.
It’s the same song Les Miles’ Tigers have danced to the last few years. Maybe that’s the reason LSU fans everywhere grow giddy with each rumor of potential transfer quarterbacks.
One of the first names to surface was former Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel, who was given his release from the Gators’ football program. Hopefully, this rumor was a joke because Driskel was probably the biggest cog in helping LSU escape the Swamp early last season.
Driskel chose Louisiana Tech earlier this month, but the rumor mill kept spinning as LSU’s bowl opponent, Notre Dame, found itself in a quarterback battle.
Senior Everett Golson began turning the ball over too much for Irish coach Brian Kelly’s liking, so Kelly turned to rising junior Malik Zaire in the first half of the regular season finale. Zaire must have done something right because he got the start against LSU.
Kelly used both Golson and Zaire to defeat LSU, but Zaire was more effective.
With the job seemingly belonging to the youngster, Golson reportedly has begun looking for a transfer. Kelly, however, said he expects his senior quarterback to return for his final year, according to NBCsports.com.
Golson himself tweeted, “Don’t believe everything you hear..” amid all the gossip, so I’m not buying the senior’s interest in LSU.
The biggest and most likely fish still out there is Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, who was a Heisman candidate before injuring his shoulder during fall camp. Since then, rising sophomore J.T. Barrett and rising junior Cardale Jones carried Ohio State to the national title.
Miller’s name has been connected to LSU, Oregon, Florida State and others, so put yourself in his shoes. Given the choice between LSU or the schools that produced the last two Heisman trophy winners, the answer isn’t Baton Rouge.
In all likelihood, LSU’s savior won’t fall from the sky. Miles isn’t going to find his Golden Ticket to the College Football Playoff blowing in the wind. The solution will have to come from the current roster.
We all know the two names with a real chance at starting.
Rising junior Anthony Jennings threw for 127.3 yards per game in his 12 starts to go with 11 touchdowns and 10 turnovers. He showed he is capable of getting LSU close enough to win if the running game can dominate, but he also never showed an ability to win a game with the running game was average.
The other option is rising sophomore Brandon Harris.
Spare me the Twitter mentions saying he’s no good because of the Auburn game. He was a true freshman making his first start on the road against the defending Southeastern Conference champions. Failure was more likely than success.
Harris came out of the game in the third quarter and attempted only one pass the rest of the season. I disagree with the decision, but Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron make more money in their sleep than I do in a semester. There had to be a reason to sit the player who almost overcame unbelievable odds to defeat Mississippi State and significantly outplayed Jennings against New Mexico State.
The popular belief is the coaching staff decided Jennings’ ability to protect the ball gave the Tigers a better chance to win this season.
LSU did just that and used him sparingly as the running game picked up wins against Kentucky and Ole Miss, but Jennings’ low ceiling was only good enough to get the Tigers one win in the final four games.
LSU had a chance to win each one of those contests (except for being stuck in the offensive Ice Age in Fayetteville, Arkansas), but chances to win aren’t wins. If LSU wants to remain an elite program, it needs better quarterback play.
If Miles and Cam Cameron thought Harris gave them a better chance to win, they wouldn’t have played Jennings anyway. But Harris is the long-term answer, and the long-term should have already started.
The coaches have said countless times Harris wasn’t ready last season. If true, then not playing him does make sense in one scenario.
We have seen the Tiger faithful turn against young quarterbacks before for making errors caused by inexperience. Look no further than Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee.
Both quarterbacks were thrust into action as either true or redshirt freshman and neither set the world on fire. Lee became known as “Pick-Six Lee,” and we all know Jefferson’s story.
Negativity breeds negativity, and the coaching staff didn’t want the negativity to swirl around their young future star.
When Harris plays in the Spring Game, don’t hold your breath hoping for a transfer to drop in and save the program. Instead, help breed the positivity Harris exudes and give him a chance to show why Miles was willing to wait a season.