LSU football fans may finally have a few answers about the quarterback situation when spring practice starts March 11.
 
New offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe said it’s open season on the quarterback competition, and even he doesn’t have any answers quite yet.
 
Kragthorpe said the offense he runs will be a new one in terms of some of the concepts the team will use, which puts all the players on a level playing field.
 
“I didn’t want to have any preconceived ideas, good, bad or different, whether they’re offensive players, defensive players, special teams players or any particular position on the offensive side of the ball,” Kragthorpe said.
 
He said he wants to have a user-friendly system that can let players play to the best of their abilities. This will be particularly important in practice, he said.
 
Kragthorpe and the other offensive coaches had a meeting last week where they discussed a way to put players in a position to make the plays on game day that they made in practice.
 
“I’m kind of deaf to guys that want the ball,” he said. “I’m a visual person. I want to see you make plays in practice.”
 
The coaches plan to have a list of playmakers who have stepped up in practice the previous week. If a player isn’t on the list, he won’t be playing.
 
“You want to get on that list,” Kragthorpe said he told the players. “You want to play so well in practice that you walk off the field and say ‘Coach needs to have me on that list. I’ve proven that I’m the guy that can make plays for him.'”
 
Kragthorpe said everyone will be starting at “ground zero,” and he’ll watch to see how the progression goes through spring and into the fall. He said rising senior quarterbacks Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee may have a head start over junior college transfer Zach Mettenberger simply because of experience, but Mettenberger has been coming along quickly.
 
“Obviously, with Jordan and Jarrett being here, they have a little bit better idea, a little bit more experience than Zach does,” Kragthorpe said. “But Zach’s a very talented player. That puts him in a position to compete very quickly.”
 
 
 
 
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Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]