LSU Football: The approach Ed Orgeron needs to take with QBs to start the season

When fall camp gets underway later this summer, the biggest storyline surrounding LSU football will be the starting quarterback battle.

With TJ Finley off to Auburn, the battle is essentially between redshirt senior Myles Brennan and sophomore Max Johnson.

(True freshman Garrett Nussmeier has been impressive so far, but it’s extremely unlikely that he’ll leap-frog Brennan and Johnson on the depth chart before the start of the season.)

Brennan was the starter to begin the 2020 season, but an abdomen injury sidelined him, forcing Ed Orgeron to turn to Finley and Johnson to lead the offense.

The approach LSU football needs to take with their quarterbacks to start the season

The competition between Brennan and Johnson is one of the closer quarterback battles in recent memory.

Brennan has experience and a big arm. But Johnson led the Tigers to a 3-0 record — including an impressive road win against Florida — which helped LSU salvage a tough 2020 season.

Orgeron could probably go with either quarterback and it would be the right call. I think both players are equally up to the task of leading LSU’s offense.

However, if Orgeron goes with Johnson, there’s a legitimate chance that Brennan could enter the transfer portal.

Brennan obviously wants to reach the NFL. And he needs to showcase his skills in 2021 to make that a reality. If he knows he isn’t going to be the starter at LSU, then why would he stick around?

The problem here is that I don’t think it’s wise to name a guy a starter just so he doesn’t transfer. Nothing good usually comes from that.

The best approach would be to just name co-starters. Orgeron should let Brennan and Johnson rotate series against UCLA in the season-opener and go from there.

There isn’t a better barometer for success than in-game performance. If Orgeron wants to keep Brennan in town, while going with the best option, this would be his best approach.