LSU will be without its greatest quarterback
Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser
NEW ORLEANS – Can you imagine being the tailback who followed 1959 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon at LSU in 1960 after he was also the star of LSU’s 1958 national championship team?
That is where Myles Brennan could find himself in the 2020 Tigers’ football season. Brennan, who will be the projected starting quarterback for the Tigers as a redshirt junior, will try to replace Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow.
Leading up to the national championship game with Clemson, Burrow led the nation in passing efficiency at 204.6 on 371 of 478 passing for 5,208 yards and 55 touchdowns with six interceptions.
Brennan was as seasoned a quarterback as Burrow less than three years ago in 2017. Burrow backed up at Ohio State in 2016 and ’17 after redshirting in 2015, while Brennan played in six games in 2017 as a backup. He was expected to be the starter at the end of spring drills in 2018, but Burrow came to LSU as a graduate transfer from the Buckeyes that June.
Brennan played in just one game in 2018. He has played in 10 games this season, completing 24 of 40 passes for 353 yards with a touchdown and an interception in mop-up duty.
Brennan, a New Orleans native who is related to members of the restaurant dynasty here, has been trying to put on weight to his 6-5 frame since arriving at LSU in 2017 at 170 pounds. He is up to 183.
“Myles is going to be a great quarterback,” Burrow said. “He’s very accurate, and he knows the offense.”
If first-year pass game coordinator Joe Brady, the hottest assistant coach in the country, does not leave for the NFL or another college job, Brennan will surely benefit.
“The offense has done exactly what we thought it was going to do,” Brennan said. “We all put in a lot of work during the offseason. It’s been no shock to us and no surprise.”
Brennan will have to beat out two incoming freshmen: No. 11 pro-style quarterback Max Johnson (6-4, 215) of Oconee County High in Watkinsville, Georgia, and No. 20 pro style quarterback T.J. Finley (6-7, 230) of Ponchatoula (Louisiana) High.
If junior tailback Clyde Edwards-Helaire leaves for the NFL a year early, one of two 2019 freshmen could take over, Tyrion Davis-Price or John Emery Jr. Chris Curry, who will be a junior and filled in for an injured Edwards-Helaire in the national semifinal win over Oklahoma with 89 yards on 16 carries, will be in the mix.
Junior wide receiver Justin Jefferson will likely leave for the NFL, but Biletnikoff winner Ja’Marr
Chase was just a sophomore in 2019 and the No. 1 prep tight end in the nation will join the 2020 Tigers, Arik Gilbert of Marietta, Georgia.
The offensive line will lose senior starting guards Adrian Magee and Damien Lewis and likely junior center Lloyd Cushenberry.
Starting tackles Saahdiq Charles and Austin Deculus are juniors but expected to return. Guards Ed Ingram and Chasen Hines are experienced sophomores.
LSU’s defense will return one of the best cornerbacks in the nation in freshman Derek Stingley but will lose linebacker Michael Divinity Jr., one of the best pass rushers on the team. The nation’s No. 1 prep cornerback, Elias Ricks, will likely start for the Tigers in 2020.
Orgeron had the No. 3 signing class in the nation in 2019 and could finish there or higher in 2020.
“I feel like we can be a contender for a long time,” he said.