It’s rare to be this close to kickoff in college football and not have a very good idea of who will line up under center in the first game, but that’s exactly the situation LSU finds itself in.
The three-way quarterback battle between [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag], [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] wages on after none of them was able to separate from the others during spring practice. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as all bring unique benefits to the table.
But in an offseason that has been filled with uncertainty as the program transitions into the [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] era, the biggest comes at the game’s most important position.
The competition will likely continue on into fall camp and potentially into the season, but if a prediction had to be made now, Brennan seems like the favorite given his status as the veteran in the room and the fact that no one has clearly jumped ahead of him.
Athlon Sports feels the same way in its power ranking of the SEC quarterbacks. They chose Brennan for LSU, though he doesn’t rank very highly among the league, sitting at just No. 11.
Injuries have derailed Brennan’s season in each of the last two years, and after opting to enter the portal, he later returned to Baton Rouge for one more season and a chance to end his playing career on a high note. The Mississippi native was handed an impossible task in 2020: Fill the void left behind by Joe Burrow. Brennan guided LSU’s offense to at least 34 points in each of the first three games and posted solid numbers (1,112 yards and 11 TDs) but suffered a season-ending injury against Missouri. A year later, Brennan appeared poised to retake the No. 1 spot on the depth chart. However, an arm injury prior to training camp ended his ’21 season, and LSU turned to Max Johnson for the starting job. Johnson left Baton Rouge for Texas A&M this offseason, and new coach Brian Kelly added former Arizona State signal-caller Jayden Daniels from the portal to add competition for Brennan and redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier. This battle should extend deep into the fall, but the guess here is Brennan takes the first snap.
It’s hard to know exactly what to expect from Brennan this fall. On the one hand, he’s in his fifth season and has shown real promise during the few games in which he was healthy and the starter. On the other hand, he’s suffered back-to-back long-term injuries, and it may be unrealistic to expect there to be no drop-off.
The player who starts Game 1 against Florida State may not be the same player starting under center by the end of the season, but Brennan is probably the safest bet for now to get the nod against the Seminoles. Regardless, he has a lot to prove after nearly two full years away from the field, as evidenced by his placement in these power rankings.
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