A large spotlight isn’t typically shone onto a football team’s third string quarterback. But the situation is different at LSU, where the backup quarterbacks are seen as a way to gauge the future of the team.Redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Garrett will no longer be part of LSU’s future after deciding to leave the program, according to sports information director Michael Bonnette.Garrett was sitting third on the depth chart behind junior quarterbacks Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee.”We wish Chris the best,” said LSU coach Les Miles in a press release. “There are no hard feelings. Chris is a good kid. We hope he has success wherever he ends up.”The 6-foot-4-inch, 235-pound quarterback didn’t throw a pass in a regular season game, only getting limited action in LSU’s spring games.Shea Dixon, managing editor for TigerSportsDigest.com, said Garrett received a letter saying he would not be on scholarship next season.Dixon said the quarterback decided his time in Baton Rouge was done after talking to Miles.”Heading into this summer he was trying to see when he would get a shot,” Dixon said. “Miles let it be known Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee would be the top guys for the next two years. Chris just thinks he’s good enough to play before then.”Garrett will finish out the summer at LSU and then move on to another school.”[The LSU coaches] felt he didn’t make enough progress from the time he was there,” said Rene Nadeau, college football analyst for ESPN and TigerVision. “He didn’t show enough growth.”Dixon said Garrett was told he couldn’t transfer to any Southeastern Conference school except Mississippi State.The Tupelo, Miss., native initially committed to the Bulldogs before signing with LSU.Garrett would have to sit out a year if he switched to an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision school, but he could play this season if he moved to a Football Championship Subdivision program.”He’s contacted schools in Louisiana — Southeastern for sure,” Nadeau said.Dixon said a lack of practice repetitions aided in Garrett’s decision to transfer.”He got big-time reps his first spring, and this year he hardly got any reps,” Dixon said. Dixon talked to Garrett’s parents, who said they fully supported their son’s decision.”They’re big fans,” Dixon said. “They were behind Chris. They just want things to die down so Chris can make his decision.” Garrett’s departure leaves four quarterbacks on the depth chart, with Jefferson and Lee on top with the most experience.”[LSU is] taking a big chance by letting a quarterback go,” Nadeau said. “They are going to roll the dice.”Incoming freshman quarterback Zach Lee has been practicing with the team this summer.Lee was selected with the 28th pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in this year’s MLB draft, but all signs point to the McKinney, Texas, native remaining at LSU to play football and baseball.”Zach Lee is definitely staying,” Dixon said. “They wouldn’t cut a guy if they thought [Lee] was going pro.”Walk-on Barrett Bailey from University High School is also on the roster.”They have to feel pretty good about Barrett Bailey,” Dixon said. “He’s got a golden opportunity.”LOWE LEAVES LSUOffensive lineman Stavion Lowe has also left the LSU program, according to Bonnette.”He has left the program,” Bonnette said. “I just know he is no longer in school and will pursue a new situation.”The Brownwood, Texas, native came to the Tigers as a Scout.com four-star recruit in LSU’s 2009 recruiting class.Dixon said playing time was the biggest reason for the move.”He said it was a personal decision,” Dixon said. “He felt like he wants to crack the field.”Dixon said Lowe is looking to transfer to a top school and take the year off, per NCAA rule.”He wants to sit out a year and then be ready after that,” Dixon said.
 
 
 
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