LSU Football: The very tough decision that Myles Brennan needs to make

LSU football redshirt senior quarterback Myles Brennan was dealt a tough blow just before the start of fall camp when he suffered a broken arm that will sideline him for at least a couple of months.

On Wednesday evening during a media session with reporters, Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron said that he isn’t exactly sure when Brennan will return. Though he noted that he thinks Brennan will be back by the Alabama game at the latest (November 6).

If Brennan doesn’t return until late October/early November, it’s safe to say that he likely won’t play a big role for LSU in 2021.

Brennan will still have another year of eligibility remaining after the 2021 season, due to the NCAA granting an extra year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Myles Brennan would be wise to move on from LSU football after 2021

I think Brennan could be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation when healthy (he was on a Joe Burrow-like pace last season before his abdomen injury).

And I think he has NFL talent.

But unfortunately for Brennan, he’s had too many variables outside of his control that’s prevented him from reaching his full potential.

Playing behind Burrow, then an abdomen injury, and now a broken arm. If you take those things away, I think we’re talking about Brennan being a first-round pick in the draft.

Brennan has a couple of choices. He could go to the NFL now, where he’ll likely fall to the seventh round or go undrafted. Or he could return to college for his sixth year to build his NFL resumé.

Returning to college is the right move.

But he shouldn’t return to LSU.

Max Johnson and Garrett Nussmeier are likely going to be at the top of the Tigers’ depth chart next season. And then there’s Walker Howard — the five-star 2022 quarterback who will be in Baton Rouge next season.

There’s simply no place for Brennan. It’s not that he wouldn’t be good enough to start for the Tigers next season, it’s just that it doesn’t make a lot of sense. There’s no reason to bench Johnson or Nussmeier — players who have played a full year under offensive coordinator Jake Peetz — in favor of Brennan.

Brennan should transfer and use his extra year at a place that needs a quarterback but is otherwise built for success. And then try to work himself into the first couple rounds of the draft.

If Brennan hits the portal after the 2021 season, he’ll probably be one of the most sought-after players in the nation.

And the great thing about all of this is that thanks to new NIL rules, Brennan could make some nice cash while still in college. Maybe not NFL money, but good money nonetheless.

It would hurt to see Brennan playing somewhere else. But I truly believe this is what’s best for the young quarterback and his football future.