LSU Football: The Tigers need a spark; the move Ed Orgeron should make

There’s a lot to unpack with LSU football right now.

Is Ed Orgeron going to be the head coach after the 2021 season?

Should the Tigers stick with the coach who just led the team to a national championship two years ago?

Is the lackluster start to the season Orgeron’s fault or offensive coordinator Jake Peetz’s fault?

That’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the questions about the 3-2 Tigers.

It’s the last question about Peetz, however, that I think is the most intriguing this week.

There’s clearly a disconnect between Orgeron, Peetz, and sophomore quarterback Max Johnson.

Coach O made it clear after the loss to Auburn on Saturday that he’s not thrilled with the way plays are being called. Orgeron bemoaned how long it’s taking a play to get called (and the constant changing of plays).

Johnson also seemed concerned with the way plays are being called by Peetz.

Here’s what Johnson had to say about burning a timeout against Auburn because of a hurried play call.

From 247Sports:

"Johnson: “We just need to figure it out. Like I said, there’s one play being called and then based on their coverage we’re calling a different play and I’m getting that play with five seconds or so and I’m still trying to change the protection and then we have to burn a timeout because of that.”"

Now, to be fair to Johnson, he did take some responsibility for how long it’s taking to change the play at the line.

"Johnson: “There’s a play at first, then the play is being changed after look over then I have a couple seconds to get my protections right and that’s where I need to hurry up a little bit.”"

I think a fair question after hearing these comments is “is this offensive system too much for Johnson?”

Should LSU Football make a QB change?

For whatever reason, the Tigers’ offense isn’t operating efficiently right now. LSU has playmakers all over the field, but they haven’t been able to consistently get the ball in their hands.

If the play calling and changing the play based on the look of the defense is truly the issue, then there’s only one thing that LSU can try right now.

Give true freshman quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a shot at running the offense and see if he can handle the changes easier.

I’m not saying this is the sure-fire answer. But after watching the offense struggle early this season, I think it’s worth trying.

Johnson and Nussmeier both come from rich football backgrounds. Johnson is the son of former NFL Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brad Johnson, while Nussmeier is the son of Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier.

Both of these young LSU quarterbacks should have a deep knowledge of offensive systems and how they work. But maybe Nussmeier has the leg up on Johnson when it comes to operating Peetz’s offensive system.

All it takes is Nussmeier making the calls a couple of seconds faster, recognizing the defense and getting the protections set just a bit quicker than Johnson, and suddenly LSU’s offense is operating at a higher level.

Remember — it’s not like Johnson is a veteran that’s entering his final year of college. He only has seven career starts.

LSU needs a spark. With the way the season is going, I don’t think there’s any harm any seeing what Nussmeier can do in this offense.