Gone are the days of the flip-flopping between Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee.
“Danny [Etling] is our starter,” said LSU coach Ed Orgeron.
“We didn’t put Myles [Brennan] in to take over Danny’s spot. We are giving him reps in case he has to play because we don’t have a second team quarterback with reps in the game.”
Orgeron’s decision to put the freshman Brennan in at quarterback in the third quarter of last weekend’s game against Syracuse stirred controversy among fans. Brennan immediately led LSU on a 6 play, 91 yard, touchdown drive, extending the Tigers lead to 18 points.
The freshman — who finished the game 4-of-6 for 75 yards and an interception — was given two more opportunities in the game, but the Tigers lead quickly disintegrated thanks to a safety and two Syracuse touchdowns. And with a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter Etling was sent back in to close out the game.
“I just want to be the best teammate I can be,” Etling said, “and enjoy being a part of a group of guys who have the same goal.”
The fifth-year senior has experienced another quarterback taking his job before. As a sophomore Etling was benched in place of former Purdue and Florida quarterback Austin Appleby and never played another down for Purdue.
However, this time Etling knows it is his job, and will be his job as long he does not suffer an injury or fall apart as a passer.
“I figured we want to have two quarterbacks ready,” Etling said. “Myles hasn’t gotten to play a lot so I figured just put him in, and I would be ready when I had to go back in, if I had to go back in. I wasn’t too concerned about anything other than us just winning that game. You’re going to have people talk about it and want to talk about it, so you want to avoid any drama and controversy as much as you can, but unfortunately sometimes it comes with the position.”
The coaching staff does have plans to get Brennan more reps and continue to groom him as the quarterback of the future. Orgeron wants to get Brennan reps against Troy in another “opportune situation where the game is still on the line.”
Orgeron said he hopes to see Brennan develop further, and display what he has done in practice in live action.
“Last week I thought he played very well,” Orgeron said. “He missed one throw, one of the first throws he attempted. The interception could have went either way, him or the receiver. It was a combination of things, it was very close. But I thought he played very well.”
