The quarterback battle for the 2022 season is going to be an interesting one. Joe Sloan joins the staff as the new quarterbacks’ coach after a long tenure as the offensive coordinator and a variety of other roles with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Sloan knows the recruiting landscape in the state of Louisiana and is now tasked with leading the quarterbacks. The Tigers head into next season with three scholarship quarterbacks with Myles Brennan, Garrett Nussmeier, and incoming freshman Walker Howard.
Last season it was Brennan, Nussmeier, and Max Johnson. You can essentially trade Johnson for Howard as the former transferred to Texas A&M, and the latter signed with LSU in the 2022 recruiting class.
Based on Mike Denbrock’s offense over the last four seasons in Cincinnati, it appears that he likes to use mobile quarterbacks. They utilized Desmond Ridder in the passing game and the running game. He finished his Bearcats’ career with 10,239 yards passing and another 2,180 yards rushing. Ridder accounted for 37 touchdowns this year, 30 through the air, six on the ground, and even caught one.
Brennan has been around a long time. He made his debut with the Tigers in 2017. At this point, that feels like an eternity ago.
Since then, LSU has won a national championship and experienced their worst seasons of the century. They’ve seen the school president change, a new athletic director come in, as well as a new head football coach. Brennan has seen it all.
2022 will be Brennan’s sixth year suiting up for LSU and to say the least, it’s been a rocky road for him.
He supposedly pushed Danny Etling in the QB battle in 2017, seeing action against Troy. However, he wasn’t good enough to stop Ed Orgeron from hitting the transfer portal and grabbing Joe Burrow. That obviously worked out well.
2020 was supposed to be Myles Brennan’s year but it was a year where nothing went right for LSU. Brennan played just three games before missing the rest of the year with an injury. That’s the last time anyone has seen him in-game action.
In 2020, Brennan posted the third-best passing grade in the SEC according to PFF. He only trailed Mac Jones and Kyle Trask. Brennan had some bad moments in the loss to Mississippi State, but overall, he looked good. Keep in mind, these were his first-ever starts despite his seniority.
Brennan entered 2021 in a battle for QB1 with Max Johnson, but Brennan got hurt in a fishing accident and never saw the field. For a moment, it looked like his career at LSU would be over.
When Brennan entered the transfer portal, it wasn’t much of a surprise. It made sense. Maybe, it just wasn’t going to work at LSU. Suddenly, when Johnson followed him to the transfer portal, it opened the door for Brennan’s return.
LSU Athletics/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Network
Johnson’s departure left freshman Garrett Nussmeier as the most experienced QB on the roster, which isn’t saying much. Nussmeier is talented but raw.
LSU will be welcoming five-star QB recruit, Walker Howard, to campus in 2022, but that’s never a sure thing. Even if it were, Howard is just a freshman.
LSU needed someone like Brennan. The veteran QB will now be back in 2022, ready for his moment. This has a chance to be the best offensive line LSU has had in a couple of years as well as the most experienced receiver group since that 2019 team. This could hinge on the status of Kayshon Boutte.
Brennan will be comfortable with these guys. In 2020, despite Brennan looking good, it was clear he was part of an offensive unit that wasn’t gelling together.
This is a time where most quarterbacks with Brennan’s talent don’t hang around one place for that long. Brennan has stuck with LSU longer than most. While there’s no shame in one transferring to better their position, Brennan should be commended for sticking around.
He’s a guy that loves LSU and has been committed to this team for over half a decade. He’s earned his moment in the purple and gold.
Brennan is a solid player. He won’t be in the Heisman conversation, but he provides a steady hand for a program that really needs it. The return of Brennan takes some of the pressure off guys like Nussmeier and Howard.
Having a veteran under center will also allow whoever is calling plays next year more flexibility with what they can install. Someone with Brennan’s experience will also be able to help the offense out in the classroom.
The talent is there and the experience is there. If Brennan stays healthy, this is his job to lose. One has to think Brennan wouldn’t have come back if he didn’t think he had more than a decent shot at the starting job in 2022.
For now, this is Myles Brennan’s team, and 2022 will once again allow him the chance to deliver the moment the fans have been waiting for.
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The senior quarterback says “I’m not leaving” on Twitter
With the LSU Tigers looking at quarterback options for the Texas Bowl and beyond, the team received some good news on Thursday.
Senior quarterback Myles Brennan announced on his Twitter account that he will return to the Tigers and remove his name from the transfer portal. Brennan announced his intentions to transfer from LSU on Nov. 1 but just six weeks later that decision has changed.
Brennan missed the entire 2021 regular season after needing surgery on his non-throwing arm after an injury prior to the opening of fall camp. It remains to be seen if he could potentially play in the bowl game. Previously Ed Orgeron stated that he wouldn’t be available this year prior to his announcement of entering the transfer portal.
Interim head coach Brad Davis stated that they were looking at an NCAA waiver to allow Garrett Nussmeier to play in the bowl game and keep his redshirt status. If Brennan is available for the Texas Bowl, the waiver likely wouldn’t be needed. This will be a situation that LSU Wire will continue to monitor.
In 2022, Brennan will be entering his sixth season with the Tigers. In 2018 he appeared in just one game as the backup for starting quarterback Joe Burrow. The Mississippi native would start three games last year before an injury ended his campaign. With the extra year of eligibility, Brennan can return for a sixth season with LSU.
Brennan will lead the quarterback room that has redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier and incoming freshman Walker Howard. During his career with the Tigers, he has thrown for 1,712 yards (1,112 in 2020), 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Having the experienced gunslinger return helps with the depth at quarterback. Prior to his announcement, the Tigers were set to only have two scholarship players at the position with zero combined starts between them.
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The LSU Tigers currently have 11 commitments ahead of the early signing period that begins on Wednesday. Currently, they are without a commitment at wide receiver, running back, safety, and edge.
Brian Kelly has plenty of work to be done over the next several days and into February. As they work to fill this class with incoming freshmen or look to add players from the transfer portal.
Not to mention continuing to fill out his coaching staff. So far that has been a slow process with just three coaches being named to his 2022 staff. Before we get into more possibilities on the coaching staff, we look at each position group heading into the signing period.
How many of the top Louisiana prospects will sign with LSU?
Based on the new overall rankings from 247Sports which factors in transfers, the LSU Tigers currently sit as the No. 25 class in 2022. They were listed as a top-five team prior to the announcement that Ed Orgeron wouldn’t be retained beyond the 2021 season.
There is a new regime in town and they have plenty of work to do in order to get this class rolling in the right direction. If the Tigers hope to have a bounce-back season in 2022, they need to find some quality recruits to buy into what the former Notre Dame head coach is selling.
Five-star quarterback and LSU commit Walker Howard of Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More took a visit to Notre Dame after the Tigers moved on from coach Ed Orgeron. There seemed to be a chance that Brian Kelly, then the head coach of the Irish, was going to flip the prized QB recruit.
Then Kelly took the LSU job. Howard is staying put. It’s always good to start a new job with a five-star, in-state quarterback already in the fold.
But what about the rest of the state of Louisiana?
LSU is currently recruiting Mathews, Preston, four-star athlete Kendrick Law of Shreveport Captain Shreve and four-star defensive lineman Quency Wiggins of Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep Academy. All four are top-100 players who have yet to issue a commitment.
Kelly presumably took the job because he wanted to build a national title-caliber roster. That starts with Louisana. Can he get off to the right start by landing these four?
The state of Louisiana is a recruiting hotbed as plenty of talent from the state can be seen across the college football landscape. More often than not, the top guys stay home and play for the Purple and Gold. A look at the top 10 guys and where they could be headed as ESP approaches.
There is a new name in the transfer portal and one that LSU fans are familiar with, Auburn’s Bo Nix. He announced on Instagram that he would put his name in the transfer portal as a graduate transfer. He recently graduated from Auburn and is now looking for his next opportunity.
His stats aren’t eye-popping, to say the least, but he was having his best season from a completion percentage and yards per attempt standpoint. Nix leaves Auburn as a three-year starter. The former five-star quarterback could be valuable to a team in need of a veteran quarterback. Would he stay in the SEC?
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The idea of Nix to LSU isn’t one that will excite many Tiger fans but he could have an impact on the team. Currently, the Bayou Bengals are projected to have two quarterbacks on scholarship in 2022. Neither has started a single game at the collegiate level. Freshman Garret Nussmeier played most of the Arkansas game but Max Johnson was the starter for that game. The other quarterback coming in will be freshman Walker Howard. They don’t have any experience at the position.
With Johnson in the portal as well, the Tigers could use another arm or two. Myles Brennan could be an option but he will be sought after. This year against LSU, Nix led Auburn to victory in Death Valley for the first time in 20 years. He would be a dual-threat that could really impact the offense.
It is unclear if new head coach Brian Kelly would have interest in the former Auburn quarterback but given the lack of arms in the quarterback room, they might need to take a look.
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Brian Kelly wasted no time turning into an internet sensation after taking the LSU job. Just two days after agreeing to terms with Louisiana State University his accent had already changed by the time he addressed fans at a home basketball game.
It has nothing to do with his voice but Brian Kelly is again making plenty cringe with his latest viral sensation.
Walker Howard, one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in the 2022 recruiting class and a player Notre Dame pursued, reaffirmed his commitment to LSU Sunday night ahead of the early signing period. He posted the video on Twitter with him and Brian Kelly and all I can say is make sure you watch it with your sound turned up.
Perhaps the worst thing about all of this is that I’ll never be able to hear Garth Brooks’s “Callin’ Baton Rouge” the same ever again after all of this and that stings because that song kicks.
Meanwhile Brian Kelly’s rivalry with being normal continues.
Where does Walker Howard rank among 2022 quarterbacks?
On Wednesday it is expected that Walker Howard will sign his NLI to join the LSU Tigers. He has been enthusiastic about the hire of Brian Kelly, at one point Howard had Notre Dame as the backup plan. That was provided he didn’t like the LSU hire at least. Instead, the Tigers hired Kelly from Notre Dame, which essentially locked him in.
The hire of Kelly wasn’t for Howard, that would be extremely shortsighted. Instead, it just worked in the Tigers favor. Howard could be walking into a heated quarterback battle this spring and into next fall. Max Johnson was the latest to enter the transfer portal leaving Garrett Nussmeier as the lone scholarship quarterback on the roster.
There is still the opportunity that the new regime could add a quarterback or two from the transfer portal. Unless they find someone with significant playing experience, Howard could very well walk away with the starting job in 2022.
Perhaps LSU will need to target a quarterback in the transfer portal.
In spring it appeared that the LSU Tigers had a loaded quarterback room heading into the 2021 college football season.
Myles Brennan (transfer portal: Nov. 3)
Max Johnson (transfer portal: Dec. 7)
TJ Finley (transfer portal: May 6)
Garrett Nussmeier
Matt O’Dowd (walk-on)
Tavion Faulk (walk-on)
As the Tigers get closer to the bowl game, Nussmeier joins O’Dowd and Faulk as the only quarterbacks on the roster. No decision has been made on which quarterback will get the nod for the game against Kansas State in the Texas Bowl. It would make sense to name Nussmeier the starter if he indeed wants to burn his redshirt. From now until the game, he could get all the snaps at quarterback to help prepare him for next season. Not to mention more in-game reps.
It makes the quarterback competition heading into next season even more interesting. Five-star quarterback Walker Howard is fully expected to keep his commitment and sign with the LSU Tigers. His fallback option was Notre Dame based on the hire but bringing in Brian Kelly all but solidified his decision. Even with Walker and Nussmeier here next season, the team needs to address the position in the transfer portal.
Where LSU ranks in recruiting just two weeks from the early signing period.
The clock is ticking on the 2022 recruiting class for the LSU Tigers. Now that a head coach is in place, he must re-recruit the guys already committed to the class. Brian Kelly will also be tasked with filling out his staff on top of closing out a few recruiting deals.
The two biggest names of the class are Will Campbell and Walker Howard, following the announcement of Kelly being hired, they seemed locked in. Howard was more vocal about it than their five-star offensive tackle pledge.
Class Breakdown
Quarterbacks: 1
Wide Receivers: 1
Tight Ends: 2
Offensive Line: 3
Defensive Line: 2
Linebacker: 1
Defensive Backs: 2
Special Teams: 1
The team has no running back commit at this moment but they were among the top three listed for Trevor Etienne recently. It remains to be seen if the hiring of Kelly would impact Etienne’s decision. He is also looking at Clemson, where his brother became a household name and Florida.
The commitments of both tight ends in Jake Johnson and Mason Taylor could be greatly impacted by who the offensive coordinator will be. With just two weeks until the early signing period, we look at the top 15 classes according to 247Sports team composite rankings.
