It’s often said that tradition never graduates.
The faces of the players suiting up to take the field, the coaching staff overseeing the program and the students sending thunderous cheers from the stands may change with each passing year, but school traditions stand the test of time.
Fans still line the street as the football team and Tiger Band march down Victory Hill, players still gather by the student section after games to sing the Alma Mater and national audiences still tune in for Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium.
While most traditions incite a sense of pride among LSU’s impassioned fan base, there is one relatively new tradition that the purple and gold faithful would prefer to change.
It’s no secret that LSU has a tough time keeping quarterbacks on the roster. As pointed out by Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, LSU has had 13 recruiting classes since 2005. Of those 13 classes, 20 quarterbacks have signed with the Tigers, but only four have completed their collegiate careers with LSU. Fourteen of the 20 signed quarterbacks were either dismissed, transferred or switched positions. Nine never played a single down in purple and gold.
The recent transfer announcements of Lowell Narcisse and Justin McMillan are the latest departures in the revolving door of LSU quarterbacks, and the Tigers are now left with two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster with the season opener fast approaching.
While the lack of quarterbacks is an immediate issue for coach Ed Orgeron and his staff, there is a glaringly large question many fans are still trying to answer:
Why can’t LSU hang on to its quarterbacks?
Some speculate that transfers are part of the collegiate game now and claim that the rate of transfers at schools across the board are higher now then they were in past years.
A lack of patience for playing time seems to especially be the case at the quarterback position. According to a Fox Sports study, 46.9 percent of four- and five-star quarterbacks transferred at least once from 2011-14.
While high turnover rates at the quarterback position are prevalent in the modern era of college football, LSU has also had the misfortune of having inconsistency plague its coaching staff.
Since LSU’s quarterback woes began in 2005, the Tigers have gone through five offensive coordinators in that same time span. As the offensive leadership changed, LSU quarterbacks have had to acclimate themselves to new schemes every few years.
It’s hard to sell top recruits on a school when next season’s offensive philosophy is a complete mystery, and returning quarterbacks may be more inclined to look for the greener pastures of a program with consistent and proven coordinators.
However, it should be noted that I’m not claiming that the root of LSU’s quarterback conundrum is solely due to the Tigers’ coaching carousel. I believe it could be a big reason LSU has been hard-pressed to hang on to its quarterbacks, but there are exceptions to every rule.
Consistent quarterback play has been a staple for the Alabama Crimson Tide’s five national championships since Nick Saban’s arrival in 2007, but the Tide have also gone through six offensive coordinators in that period.
The simplest explanation for the disparity at the quarterback position between the Tigers and Tide despite their similar circumstances might boil down to tradition.
Alabama has a tradition of winning, and LSU has a tradition of quarterbacks flying the coop.
