Understanding Among LSU QB's Competition Will Extend Into Fall
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LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and the rest of the offensive staff are throwing everything they can at these four quarterbacks and have come away with some positive results.
The competition was already expected to be fierce but the late addition of Jayden Daniels dialed this battle up to full blast and the first few weeks of spring camp hasn't settled any of those discussions. Will the Tigers turn to the transfer Daniels, the veteran senior Myles Brennan or will redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier continue to push both players for the spot?
There's been very little in the way of slowly wading in the shallow end of the pool as the Tigers try to establish a general core of what they want the offense to look like. As a result, it's taken some time for this group to find its footing but Denbrock has been encouraged by the progress made.
"I've been pleased with all the quarterbacks. In our system and the way we run it, we put a lot on the quarterback," Denbrock said. "His ability to learn and pick up things is very critical to us advancing this offense. We've thrown a ton of installation at them, demanded they get things right and I know they're swimming a little bit.
"There's a room full of really talented football players there so I'm not surprised by anybody. I'm pleased in the fact we have some very healthy competition going on in that room we hope to build. From top to bottom those guys are competing and it's just gonna make them all better."
Denbrock echoed what Brian Kelly has recently said in that the goal of the next few weeks will shed a little more light onto what each quarterback does extremely well. Both Brennan and Nussmeier have been the most consistent of the four quarterbacks to this point but that's not to count out Daniels, who's been electric and really impressive showing off his dual threat ability, something Denbrock and Kelly value in their quarterback.
So much of the quarterback position is about how quickly each player can process information and how quickly they respond to what a defense is showing on the field.
The evaluation process will continue for this group heading into spring but expectations should be tempered with this battle expected to bleed into the fall. Of course with such a tightly contested battle at this point, one of the points made to Denbrock was the possibility of a multi quarterback offense which garnered an interesting response.
"We've done it before. I think ideally anyone would tell you, if there's one clear winner, that's what you need to be doing," Denbrock said. "We've had situations where we've had to play more than one guy. He's going to make the decision that's best for the football team."
In the end, this is a battle that is not close to being decided, something that all quarterbacks are aware of and why it's sparked such "healthy" competition as the final half of spring ball becomes more nuanced in the way it's scripted.
"I think it's important those guys understand that this competition is probably going to spill over into the fall, like we all probably expect it will," Denbrock said. "They're all going to be given an opportunity to win the job and it's important for them to step up and seize that opportunity."
