LSU Football: The advantage Garrett Nussmeier has over Max Johnson

Sophomore Max Johnson is firmly entrenched, for now, as LSU football‘s starting quarterback.

Johnson was battling redshirt senior Myles Brennan for the job this fall.

Brennan, however, suffered a broken arm that will keep him out for at least eight weeks. As a result of Brennan’s injury, Johnson was named the starter (there’s a strong possibility he would’ve won the job regardless of Brennan’s injury).

For now, true freshman Garrett Nussmeier is the only other scholarship quarterback on the roster (TJ Finley, who started five games for the Tigers last season, transferred to Auburn earlier this year).

Max Johnson shouldn’t get too comfortable as LSU football’s starting QB

Just because Brennan is on the sideline, doesn’t mean Johnson won’t be pushed this fall.

While Johnson is the undisputed starter, he’ll have plenty of competition from Nussmeier, who appears ready to make an impact in the SEC.

And there’s one big advantage the true freshman has over Johnson.

Arm strength.

According to 247Sports’ Matthew Brune, Nussmeier has a stronger arm than Johnson.

Brune said this week that Nussmeier throws “much harder” than Johnson. He also noted that Nussmeier’s throws are like a bullet and have been hard for running backs to handle at times.

Being a starting quarterback in the SEC is obviously about more than arm strength. But Nussmeier seems to be the total package. He’s consistently been praised this fall by Ed Orgeron and teammates. If he was forced to start because of an injury to Johnson, I don’t think LSU’s offense would miss a beat.

If Johnson struggles to start the season, I think we could see Orgeron look to Nussmeier earlier than anticipated.

Of course, I don’t expect Johnson to struggle. He showed us last season that he’s more than capable of leading the Tigers to some big wins.

But if he does, it’s nice to know that LSU’s offense would still be in a good spot.