The college football season is getting closer and closer and it’s time to start with the preseason projections. It’s also time to start previewing the LSU Tigers, position by position.
Much like last year’s previews, we’ll look at each position one by one with the exception of special teams. Without further ado, let’s get into the action and start our look into 2018 with the quarterback position.
Departing Players:
The lone departure for the Tigers from last year’s roster was the biggest one in Danny Etling. While he never exactly shocked the world with his talents, he was a very serviceable quarterback and got wins on the board for the Tigers.
When you compare that to the last three quarterbacks that have led the Tigers, you can say that Etling succeeded at LSU. Add the fact that he’s getting a chance to continue his career with the New England Patriots; it’s safe to say that the organization saw that he has those tools.
Returning Players:
LSU has three quarterbacks coming back this year and up until the month of May, it seemed to be a two-quarterback race with Myles Brennan as the front runner. From the second he showed up on campus, Ed Orgeron had nothing but good things to say about the Mississippi native.
It was clear that Orgeron had faith in him and put him in some game situations to see how he would look and it’s safe to say that it was a bit of a mixed bag, going 14-of-24 with a passing touchdown and two interceptions. It wasn’t the best start to an LSU career, but he was still the prohibitive favorite to be the starter heading into spring practice.
Another player that could make things interesting is Lowell Narcisse. If not for a knee injury during a jamboree at St. James he could’ve been in the running for the starting job in 2017. That being said, his spring game showed that he might be a step behind.
The one quarterback that did have a good day during the spring game was undoubtedly Justin McMillan. The junior threw for 216 yards, including a 33-yard TD to Drake Davis. He even showed some mobility with eight carries for 48 yards. The big thing holding him back though is the fact that he hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular season game under the bright lights.
The Other Guys:
Obviously we have to talk about the elephant in the room and that’s Joe Burrow. The transfer at Ohio State is coming into the program and seems to be the new favorite to be named the starter as we draw closer to the start of fall camp. A big reason why has to be the fact that he’s a grad transfer with two years of eligibility. That alone is enough to make LSU fans salivate.
However, there is one more player left in the quarterback room and that’s Andre Sale out of Tennessee Tech. He had an okay year throwing for 1,520 yards, but his TD/INT ratio is something that I’d be concerned about.
Overall Thoughts:
Coach Ed Orgeron and Steve Ensminger have said that it’s a wide open competition, but at the end of the day there’s no way a grad transfer out of a high-profile university like Ohio State isn’t the favorite headed into fall camp. They won’t say it, but I’m going to say it, Joe Burrow is going to be the starting quarterback against Miami barring anything out of the ordinary.
-Clint Domingue