Quarterback discussion: A look at the future of the position at LSU
Coming out of spring ball we thought there would be a four-man battle going for the quarterback position. At the time they had Myles Brennan back and healthy following his season-ending injury in 2020. The team also had a pair of sophomore passers in TJ Finley and Max Johnson as well as incoming freshman Garrett Nussmeier.
That changed on May 6, 2021, when Finley decided to enter the transfer portal. Not three weeks later Finley was on his way to back up Bo Nix at Auburn. That left Brennan, Johnson, and Nussmeier as the trio of scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.
Prior to the start of camp, Myles Brennan suffered an injury that would require surgery leaving just two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster until his return. That return never came. The Monday following when Brennan was expected to return, he put his name in the transfer portal.
That leaves just Johnson and Nuss on the team at quarterback, let’s dive into what the team could look like moving forward at the position?
Max Johnson, Junior Season
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It hasn’t been a great year for Max Johnson, especially since the team lost their top weapon with Kayshon Boutte. You can also argue that he hasn’t been bad, it has been an up and down season for Johnson. Pencil him in for next season.
Garrett Nussmeier, Sophomore Season
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Nussmeier is the young and energetic gunslinger. He has appeared in three games this season, mostly in “garbage time.” Going into the game on Saturday, he is expected to get more playing time as the competition was opened up ahead of the Arkansas game. The freshman has an opportunity to finish out the year as the starter, which would burn his redshirt.
The key point is in the era of the transfer portal, it is certainly possible that neither Johnson nor Nuss finish their careers at LSU. Also, the fact that more often than not, quarterbacks don’t stay for five years in college football. They need to play the guy that gives them the best chance to win.
Walker Howard, Freshman Quarterback
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Walker Howard is one of the top quarterbacks in the 2022 class according to 247Sports composite rankings. He is a legacy player as his father played quarterback for the LSU Tigers. Some believe he might look to flip to Notre Dame depending on who the next head coach is. Howard would likely get the opportunity to battle with Johnson and Nuss as the starting quarterback in 2022.
Transfer Options: Spencer Rattler, Redshirt Junior Season
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It is amazing how the 2021 season completely changed the future for quarterback Spencer Rattler. He isn’t in the transfer portal but with the emergence of Caleb Williams, he very well could hit the portal. Rattler needs a season of good tape to build his NFL draft stock back up. This would depend on the hire but Rattler could be an option to come in and give the position a boost.
Transfer Option: Kyle McCord, Sophomore Season
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Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has a problem that many other coaches would love to have, too many quarterbacks.
With CJ Stroud, Quinn Ewers, a recently suspended Jack Miller, and Kyle McCord, Day has a plethora of five-star quarterbacks. In this day and age of the transfer portal, more than likely one or two of them look to find another opportunity. McCord could be the odd man out in this situation. He is a very accurate quarterback and would do wonders anywhere he goes. Could he make a Joe Burrow-like move to the Bayou?
To me, Kyle McCord looks like the guy that has the potential to land somewhere else sooner rather than later if he can’t win the starting job at Ohio State this offseason. He has the talent as a five-star pure pocket passer with elite accuracy. He’s not going to make the running game a part of his game, but can sling it and will get better and better at reading college defenses. I don’t want to throw this out there this early, but his abilities and situation really remind me of when Joe Burrow was at Ohio State. He’s got that type of passing ability, but probably not quite as mobile in the pocket as Burrow was. Still, he can get outside and slide away from pressure in a more than adequate manner to be an All-American type of player almost anywhere else in the country. – Phil Harrison, Buckeyes Wire Site Editor
Other Transfer Portal Quarterbacks
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Chubba Purdy (Florida State)
Harrison Bailey (Tennessee)
Jacob Zeno (Baylor)
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