Slowly but surely, Matt Mauck was becoming a good quarterback.
After a season-opening 26-8 drubbing at the hands of Virginia Tech in which Mauck’s receivers dropped numerous balls, the former minor league baseball player led the Tigers on a five-game winning streak, including a 36-7 pounding of Florida at the Swamp.
In that game, Mauck completed 13-of-20 passes for 153 yards and ran the ball 15 times for 67 yards.
But all was not well in the aftermath of the win. Mauck injured his right foot late in the fourth quarter after UF’s Ian Scott rolled over it. The injury, a sprained ligament to the mid-foot area, ended Mauck’s season and required surgery.
The rehab road was long and winding, but Mauck overcame the injury and regained his starting position heading into the opener against the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said he will not ask Mauck, a quarterback blessed with the ability to improvise with his feet when the pocket breaks down, to change his scampering style of play.
“I don’t know if you can start telling a guy how to play,” Fisher said. “You don’t know how the game is going to fall. When you start pre-determining how you are going to play, we don’t know what the guy on the other side of the ball is going to do. Football is a reaction sport. He has got to do what he has got to do to be successful.”
One opportunity the injury did present to Mauck was working on becoming a better pocket passer. During the spring Mauck could not completely push off his right foot and was forced to throw more in the pocket. He showed marked improvement in his accuracy and touch.
And even though soreness remains, Mauck is confident his foot will not affect his play.
“My foot is doing really well,” Mauck said. “Obviously it hurts a little, but that is just something you have to deal with when you are playing football. You are going to be hurting a little, no matter what happens. I think I am able to do the same things I have always done, but like I said, there is just a little pain involved.”
Behind Mauck will be No. 2 quarterback Marcus Randall, who was 3-4 in his stint as LSU’s starting quarterback.
Randall showed flashes of brilliance in some games, but was marred with inconsistency. He finished the season 87-of-181 throwing for 1,173 yards with seven touchdown passes and five interceptions. He also was on the throwing end of the Bluegrass Miracle at Kentucky, chunking the ball around 60 yards before it was tipped perfectly into receiver Devery Henderson’s hands for a 33-30 LSU win.
But possibly receiving more attention than both Mauck and Randall is the appearance of highly touted freshmen Matt Flynn and JaMarcus Russell.
Both come to LSU with high school credentials, and both have a chance to earn the No. 3 quarterback position.
Head coach Nick Saban warns against expecting too much of the freshmen in their first year.
“We need to let these guys develop,” Saban said. “We need to see if one of them can be consistent enough to first of all, be a third quarterback.”
Saban does not know if he will redshirt one, both or either of them.
“We are going to determine from a day-to-day basis [if we will redshirt them],” Saban said. “Should they both be playing and being coached this year? Or should one of them get redshirted and one of them get coached? Or should both guys be developed this year? That is all going to be determined on the field this year. We will make the decision based on what is best for our football team.”
Regardless of what happens, Russell is excited about the season.
“With the things we are doing, it seems we are getting closer and closer to the time,” Russell said. “So when it gets here, I am going to be ready for everything that is going to come and hopefully I can get a chance to get out there and prove what I can do and have been doing.”