Quarterback battle continues, safety position ‘wide open’ at LSU

LSU could see lots of significant change moving into the 2021 season.

LSU football is seeking to return to its former glory after finishing with an underwhelming 5-5 record while coming off a 5-5 season.

Sophomore Max Johnson continues to take first-team snaps at quarterback after he finished the 2020 season with an upset victory over Florida and an impressive home win over Ole Miss to cap off the season with a personal 2-0 record.

Early enrollee freshman Garrett Nussmeier, sophomore TJ Finley and senior Myles Brennan continue to split equal reps with Johnson.

Though Brennan opened last season as the starter before he was sidelined by a lower-body injury early in the season against Missouri, he’s far from the surefire guy to take the reins moving forward.

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Orgeron made clear this week that it’s anyone’s game.

“All of them are competing right now,” Orgeron said. “All of them are getting equal reps. We’ve only practiced four times. This is going to be an ongoing thing. We’ve got to let it go throughout camp. All our guys are doing well right now.”

The safety position is just as “wide open,” according to Orgeron.

Junior Jay Ward could move over to safety to compete for a place after spending some time at nickel safety last season. Junior CorDale Flott also played some at that position, and Orgeron described him as “pretty solid” there.

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LSU has reason to be confident in its offensive line after returning every starter from the unit, and it seems unlikely that lineup will change moving into the season.

Linebacker will be one of the most intriguing positions to watch of them all with JUCO transfer Navonteque “Bugg” Strong, returning senior Damone Clark, Micah Baskerville and Clemson transfer Mike Jones Jr. all in the mix.

Where the defensive line is concerned, LSU lacks no depth, with Orgeron saying he has between six and eight guys who can play in rotation.

It will be interesting to see how things continue to shake out for the Tigers during spring practice, but it’s clear that there will be some major changes from last year as LSU looks to go full spread on offense and continue improvement within the defense.

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