Not even a 38-point win can satisfy all LSU fans.An interception was all it took for the boos to start Saturday night after LSU sophomore quarterback Andrew Hatch threw a pick a little more than six minutes into the game against North Texas.The interception was the first by an LSU quarterback this season, and students around section 219 chanted “Jordan Jefferson” during the ensuing Mean Green drive.Allow me to enlighten those guys who may have a man-crush on the freshman quarterback Jefferson.Jefferson should sit. He should sit for as long as possible and should only see the field in cleanup situations.I took a trip down LSU’s memory lane to research how freshman quarterbacks have fared for the Tigers.And the results don’t look promising for Jefferson.LSU has only had two true freshman start games for them since 1995. The two quarterbacks were Herb Tyler and Josh Booty.Though Tyler — a phenom that went 25-6 as a starter during his career with the Tigers — went 3-0 as the Tigers’ starting quarterback the last three games of the ’95 season, fans watched Booty struggle the entire ’99 season.Booty started two games that year — Kentucky and Alabama — and went 0-2 in those games. He threw seven interceptions, one touchdown and completed 39 percent of his passes in the two starts.The rest of the season didn’t go much better for the true freshman. Booty finished the season with 19 interceptions, seven touchdowns, 1,830 yards and a 48.6 completion percentage in the 10 games he played.Another reason for worry is Booty, who attended Evangel Christian Academy for high school, and Jefferson are eerily similar.Beside the fact that both suffered broken hands during their high school careers and both quarterbacks played for Louisiana powerhouses, other — more football-related similarities — link them together.I played for Destrehan High School from 2001 to 2005. After watching countless hours of film on Evangel’s offense and playing them three times during the four years I was there, I came to realize we both ran the same offensive scheme.Our offensive plays and formations mirrored each other. Not much changed from an offensive standpoint during the past 10 years for these two teams, and last year, Jefferson played in a similar offensive scheme as Booty did during his high school career.Though true freshmen don’t fair well, the same can’t be said for redshirt freshman.Former quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell, Matt Mauck and Rohan Davey enjoyed some sort of success during their redshirt-freshman seasons.Russell and Mauck made the greatest contributions to the team during their respective redshirt seasons.Russell started four games in 2004 and put the Tigers in position to win the 2004 Capital One Bowl against Iowa.Trailing 24-12 in the fourth quarter, Russell guided the Tigers to a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives. LSU led the game 25-24 with 46 seconds left in regulation, but lost 30-25 when Iowa quarterback Drew Tate threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway on the last play of the game.Mauck came off the bench in 2001 for an injured Davey to lead LSU to a 31-20 win against Tennessee in the SEC Championship game. He rushed for 43 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game.The extra year really makes a difference, and if you actually saw Jefferson on the field Saturday, you would know why.He ran around the field like his head was cut off. He went back and forth from the huddle to the sideline on the two plays he ran.Jefferson has the talent to be a great collegiate player, but he’s just not ready. And after looking at the facts, I’ll let you judge for yourself.—-Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]
Jefferson not ready for SEC play
By Jay St. Pierre
Columnist
Columnist
September 15, 2008