LSU football: Top 5 Quarterbacks of All-Time
By Crissy Froyd
Drafted in 2014, Zach Mettenberger was LSU’s last truly great quarterback. Mettenberger started two seasons at LSU (2012-2013), after leading the Butler Grizzlies to the JUCO National Championship and an 11-1 record. At LSU, he was named permanent team captain both seasons, and was also SEC player of the week in 2013 vs. Mississippi State.
Mettenberger set the school record for most passing yards in back-to-back seasons (2,609 in 2012 and 3,082 in 2013). He played in 30 games and made 25 starts, posting an overall record of 19-6 as a starter. Mettenberger threw for a total of 5,783 yards, completing 407-of-659 passes (7th best in school history) and 35 touchdowns. Mettenberger led the team to the Chick-fil-a bowl in 2012 and the Outback Bowl in 2013.
In the final game of the 2013 regular season against Arkansas, Mett suffered a torn ACL, which would significantly hurt his draft stock.
At LSU. Mettenberger possessed strong abilities to throw a deep and accurate pass and had no issues reading defenses. Both offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and head coach Les Miles placed a lot of faith in Mettenberger, allowing him to run a number of difficult deep routes that the team has not frequently run since he departed to the NFL.
Looking at the LSU 2017 quarterback recruiting class with commits like Myles Brennan, it appears that LSU is trying to revert back to a Mettenberger-type at the position.
Next: No. 4 JaMarcus Russell