LSU Football: Could QB Danny Etling be the real deal?

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the starting quarterback position battle that is to ensue for LSU Football this season will be a tough one for all parties.

One of the members involved in this stout competition will be none other than ex-Purdue QB Danny Etling.

Etling has made many believers out of the Tiger fan base since he took the reins from Brandon Harris earlier on in the season.

But will his performance be enough? After all, Lindsey Scott, Brandon Harris, Justin McMillan, Myles Brennan and Lowell Narcisse will be auditioning for the position as well.

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That’s a lot of people who want your spot, Danny.

But it’s not at all a stretch for Etling to keep his current position. In fact, he may be the best candidate for it.

New offensive coordinator Matt Canada has lots of experience with quarterbacks like Etling, so it’s not like he’ll have to make any major adjustments to his playing style to fit a brand new scheme.

Etling brings a lot to the table for LSU. The pro-style quarterback has steadily produced better numbers as he’s gained more experience with the Tigers, going from virtually unknown to a household name of SEC football fans.

He’s also shown above-average arm strength, and has revived the LSU passing game – one that was almost entirely dead when an inaccurate Harris was under center. Etling has also shown some consistency, something that Harris and many former LSU QBs alike didn’t have.

In the season finale Etling picked apart the Louisville defense and kept them at bay for the entirety of the contest, a task many QBs were not able to accomplish against the Cardinals in 2016. LSU scored 29 points on Louisville, the fourth-highest amount the Cardinals defense had allowed in a game all season long.

Etling doesn’t shy away from making the big play either, and displayed tremendous effort on his own part in the Citrus Bowl when he made an extra push to dive for a crucial LSU first down.

Yet another strength the QB has shown is the ability to extend the play and make smart decisions in the pocket as well. It is not often that Etling panics and makes a bad throw. He’s 160 of 269 on the season and has thrown only 5 interceptions with the Tigers.

With Etling, the LSU offense looks to have finally found some sort of rhythm for the first time in a long time. Fans finally have a reason to be excited when they take the field rather than just hoping the old saying “defense wins games” holds true one more time.

Will Danny Etling go down as the best LSU quarterback ever? Maybe not. But is he what the Tigers need right now? Absolutely.

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