A Look at LSU Football's Spring Depth Chart: Quarterback
LSU enters its first spring under Brian Kelly with its most important position on the depth chart secured. With three scholarship quarterbacks ready to compete, Kelly and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock can enter this spring with open eyes.
As spring ball, approaches we'll be breaking down the depth chart of every position on the roster, what we hope to learn about each group come spring and who projects as impact players come the fall. First up is the quarterback room:
Depth Chart: Myles Brennan (Senior), Garrett Nussmeier (Redshirt Freshman), Walker Howard (True Freshman)
The most interesting components to a new coaching staff are the fresh eyes and clear mindset that come with evaluating talent at every position on the roster. When Kelly convinced Brennan to remove his name from the transfer portal and return to LSU, he did so with a clear vision in place.
This is a position group that has a balance of veteran and youth but very little playing experience to draw from. Brennan started three games in 2020 but injuries have derailed his opportunity the last two seasons. Nussmeier as a true freshman earned one game with significant playing time and showed there's plenty more to develop within his game.
The true freshman Howard has shown a willingness to redshirt his first year to learn the game and develop in the new offense, which could lead Kelly and company to look in the portal for one more scholarship back up later down the road. But that's a conversation for another day.
What this spring should really show Kelly and the coaching staff is which player is ready to truly make that jump as a full time starter. It's one Brennan has hoped for since his freshman season back in 2017. He'll likely be given every opportunity to win the starting job but it's one that likely won't become clear until the fall.
So what are the major areas each must prove this spring? For the senior Brennan it's first and foremost health. His freak injuries to the abdomen and a broken arm suffered right before fall ball in 2021, proving he can stay healthy for a full spring session is important to prove to the coaching staff and himself.
One can only imagine the mental hurdles he's had to climb after the last two seasons ended so bizarrely and disappointing for Brennan. His experience adapting to new offensive coordinators and schemes should also give him a leg up as he has had five different men in charge of the offense during his tenure.
Where the improvement must come from Nussmeier is his overall feel for the game. While he shouldn't be judged much as a true freshman in a difficult situation, the one area he'll likely be looking to develop is settling for more efficient throws than going for the home run kill.
His accuracy suffered at times but that's probably more of a product of a true freshman trying to make the most of the limited opportunities he earned in 2021. There's no doubt there's genuine excitement about Nussmeier's long term potential in this offense and if he can show more poise in the pocket during the spring and continue to keep that "it" factor he showed at times last year, he very well could make a strong case this spring.
Howard is another intriguing case but he will have to overcome some pretty big obstacles. He fractured his leg during his senior season and while he was able to return to action for the postseason, Mike Scarborough of TigerBait reported he recently underwent thumb surgery.
In the end which quarterback picks up the new offense and adjusts to yet another new system will likely have the slight edge coming out of spring. It's very likely LSU is only able to implement the basics of its offensive identity starting next month but having some stability in the quarterback room when there wasn't much at the beginning of Kelly's era is a big win.
