Myles Brennan’s bizarre journey with the LSU Football team has officially come to an end. Not with a bang, but with the faintest whimper. The 23-year-old has been on campus for the last five years, mostly as a back-up to different veterans. Brennan backed up Danny Etling and Joe Burrow as a youngster, but once it was his turn to step up and seize the moment, he suffered a series of unfortunate season-ending injuries that eventually cost him his football career.
The sixth-year quarterback briefly entered his name into the transfer portal last year before new frontman Brian Kelly convinced him to return to Baton Rouge. Jayden Daniels’ arrival at LSU clouded a situation that, at the time, pointed toward Brennan being the starter. Now, it’s down to two as Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier vie for the title of QB1. Brennan meanwhile has officially stepped away from football as he is no longer with the Tigers.
LSU fans react to the Myles Brennan news on social media
Although Brennan still has one year of college eligibility remaining, it’s believed that he will now end his college career and step away from the game for good. The Mississippi native’s story is seen as a Shakespearean tragedy to many. Brennan committed years of his career to the university, and unfortunately, the Tigers were never able to reciprocate that commitment through on-field success. One thing remains true: few individuals have shown as much loyalty to LSU over the years than Brennan.
Kelly weighed in on the reports on Monday afternoon via Twitter. The Tigers’ head coach confirmed suspicions as he released an official statement on Brennan’s departure:
Thank you, Myles, for everything you did for LSU. pic.twitter.com/Yc40T1liPc
— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) August 15, 2022
Despite Brennan’s failure to ever establish himself as the true No. 1, there are no traits that LSU fans value more than commitment and loyalty. The Tigers’ faithful were obviously stunned to hear the news on Monday afternoon. Nevertheless, they had a lot to say on social media:
Myles Brennan's career being totally derailed by a fishing accident might make him go down as the Most LSU QB of all time. Sad that it never worked out for him.
— PodKATT (@valleyshook) August 15, 2022
The overall feeling in the college football world is that Brennan earned the respect of every fanbase through his perseverance, despite having played very few games.
I’ll forever have so much respect for Myles and the way he stuck it out and just competed. Didn’t work out for him, but he is a Tiger through and through. Good luck to him in wherever he goes from here @MylesBrennan #GeauxMyles #GeauxTigers 🐯
— HoldThatTiger (@HoldThatTiger1) August 15, 2022
I better not hear one person say Myles Brennan is a “quitter.”
— Nick Dias (@TheNickDias) August 15, 2022
Not a damn one#LSU https://t.co/2OqQrdNYZp
All feelings aside, Brennan’s career is one for the history books. He will now undoubtedly become one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ in the recent history of college football:
Myles Brennan is the most interesting case study of the transfer portal era.
— Nick Suss (@nicksuss) August 15, 2022
To oversimplify:
LSU portal'd in Burrow. Brennan could've left. Didn't. Waited. Tough injury breaks. Program dysfunction. Big NIL deals. New regime. Still didn't leave. More transfers come in. Retires. https://t.co/iaZwcpTxiX
Myles Brennan will be one of the biggest what-if’s in LSU history. Everything that could have possibly went wrong (aside from him playing poorly) the last two years did.
— Evan Saacks (@evansaacks) August 15, 2022
At least he got a championship ring and NIL money!
The career trajectories of the QBs in ~that~ 2020 Mississippi State-LSU game between K.J. Costello and Myles Brennan are something else.
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) August 15, 2022
Costello breaks the SEC's single-game passing record, is eventually benched for Will Rogers.
Brennan retires from football two years later. https://t.co/HyLChPpxIe
It goes without saying that even though Brennan will no longer be a member of Kelly’s team, the fanbase will continue to support him in whatever life holds for him in the future.
Good luck in whatever your next venture is @MylesBrennan forever a tiger!!! https://t.co/byjbbPU2o6
— Barstool LSU (@LSUBarstool) August 15, 2022
If there is a silver lining in this unfortunate situation, Brennan’s efforts weren’t for nothing. He received a quality education at LSU that will set him up for the future. Further, he was able to cash in on his name, image and likeness over the last few months.
Best of luck to Myles in whatever the future has in store for him!