Zach Mettenberger won’t be the starting quarterback when LSU plays Oregon on Sept 3.
The rest of the season, well, could be up for grabs.
It’s extremely unlikely LSU coach Les Miles will start an inexperienced signal caller in the Tigers’ nationally televised season opener. As of now, Miles has said, senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson is and will be the clear No. 1.
Miles has praised Jefferson’s performance through the spring, and he awarded him the Jim Taylor Leadership Award at the conclusion of the spring game.
It’s his job to lose.
And lose it he might.
Jefferson has made a career out of being inconsistent. His performance against Tennessee last season (3-of-10 for 30 yards) allowed Jarrett Lee to get his foot back in the door for playing time.
But his performance against Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl (10-of-19 for three touchdowns) seemingly closed it.
It might be a long summer for Jefferson, who didn’t do anything in the spring game to stop another quarterback controversy. Jefferson completed only 4-of-14 passes for 102 yards, threw an interception and fumbled twice.
It’s impossible and a little unfair to accurately judge LSU’s three quarterbacks by their performances in the Spring Game on Saturday. LSU played without 15 players and only used certain parts of the playbook.
In a closed scrimmage the week before, Jefferson threw four touchdowns.
“We definitely cut out a lot of plays that were very effective that we’ve been running in spring practice,” Jefferson said. “We were on national TV. I’m quite sure a lot of teams that are playing us next year were watching on TV so we had to keep it as basic as possible.”
Closed playbook or not, one thing became obvious early in the second quarter. The 25,032 fans in attendance came to see Mettenberger.
The fans let out the biggest cheer of the day when Mettenberger relieved Lee at quarterback for the Purple Team. To put that into perspective, they cheered louder than they did when LSU introduced its former All-American players at halftime.
The sophomore transfer from Butler Community College in Kansas didn’t take many meaningful snaps, but he did make a few nice plays. He completed 5-of-8 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown with the second-team receivers.
Mettenberger attempted a deep pass that just brushed off the fingertips of freshman running back Jakhari Gore a few yards short of the end zone. He connected with sophomore wide receiver Kadron Boone to start the third quarter for a 60-yard touchdown.
A wide open Boone had a good 10 steps on sophomore defensive back Dexter Alexander, a scout player.
“There was a matchup issue. The coordinator said, ‘Here, throw it over there, and I thought it was a good quality matchup,” Miles said, smiling. “I think he has the ability to throw it long certainly and throw it short. He’s a talented guy.”
A lot can happen between now and the next time fans get a glimpse of the quarterbacks.
If Jefferson comes out firing in September, it’s unlikely Mettenberger or Lee will take his job away from him.
“There’s competition there, and that’s increasing Jefferson’s want to really lead this team,” Miles said.
But if his inconsistencies continue, all bets are off.
 
____
Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]