Myles Brennan was the clear-cut starter for LSU ahead of the 2020 football season, but his campaign was cut short when he suffered an torn abdomen against Missouri, causing him to miss seven games.
Heading into the 2021 season, a lot has changed at LSU.
Former offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger will move into an analyst role with ex-Panthers quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz taking his place. The Tigers also brought back DJ Mangas, who served as an offensive assistant for the Panthers, to be the team’s passing game coordinator.
Both Peetz and Mangas have a connection to Joe Brady, who was LSU’s passing game coordinator when the Tigers went undefeated and won the national championship over Clemson in 2019.
Orgeron said he would have to talk with Peetz about the situation at quarterback as LSU goes “all spread” in 2021.
Peetz shared his thoughts about the passers in the room on Wednesday.
“Max (Johnson) is a guy, you’re right, he can move. He has some mobility to him,” he said. “But if you look at his calmness and his footwork in the pocket. This guy can play pro-style football. This guy can play in the pocket, he can sling it. We can do some different things, moving it.”
Peetz made a comparison to Brennan, in some aspects.
“I would say the same thing for Brennan. He can move the pocket, he has very good balance. He’s a guy that can sling it, I like his lower half.”
He also had appreciation for what TJ Finley, who initially took the starting position in Brennan’s relief until Florida matchup, brings to the table.
TJ is a big a man now. We were talking earlier today,” he said. “Seeing him for the first time reminded me a lot of when I first came to Carolina and seeing Cam Newton. These are big men.
LSU also has Garrett Nussmeier out of Flower Mound, Texas, who has been a highly touted recruit, in the room this year.
“Then we have Garrett Nussmeier. Garrett tore up 6A football in the state of Texas,” he said. “He’s a guy that is extremely competitive.”
Based on this alone, it sounds like the quarterback competition in Baton Rouge has been busted open, and it will be interesting to see who takes the field as a starter when the season begins.