Miles, LSU coaches set for Houma appearance
March 26, 2014Cardinals reload to again become Class 3A power
March 26, 2014
Zach Mettenberger is gone, which means that the LSU football team will have a new starting quarterback in the 2014 season.
Three able-bodied replacements are grinding their gears during spring practices to show Les Miles that they are worthy of the opportunity to be the Tigers’ next starting signal caller.
With spring practice now a week and a half old, Miles and the Tigers are working to make improvements they can use before the 2014 kicks off this fall.
But for fans, all eyes are on sophomore Anthony Jennings and freshmen Hayden Rettig and Brandon Harris – the three-headed monster aiming to replace Mettenberger as LSU’s quarterback.
Miles said the trip has had both good moments and bad, adding that work needs to be done before the team can name a starter.
“Guys are looking to make plays, and young guys are looking to make plays for themselves,” Miles said. “It’s way too early to say anything, but I like our team. I like the enthusiasm for practice.”
By all accounts, Jennings is the leader in the clubhouse to win the quarterback competition.
The soon-to-be sophomore is the only player of the trio to see live action for LSU in 2013, his true freshman season.
Jennings played in nine of the Tigers’ 13 games last season as Mettenberger’s primary backup.
But Jennings only saw significant action in the final two games of the season after Mettenberger tore his ACL during LSU’s season finale against Arkansas.
In that game, the Marietta, Ga., native played the fourth quarter for the Tigers, rallying LSU on a 99-yard last-minute touchdown drive to cap a 31-27 comeback win.
Jennings was 4-of-7 in that game with 76 yards and the game-winning touchdown strike – a 49-yard bomb to a wide-open Travin Dural to ice the win.
Jennings carried that momentum into the Tigers’ bowl game win against Iowa. He started the game and completed 7-of-19 passes for 82 yards.
But Miles cautioned fans that all three LSU signal callers will have the opportunity to earn the 2014 starting job.
The coach praised the work of Harris, a true freshman early enrollee from Parkway High School, who lands at LSU as one of the program’s most decorated quarterback signees in years.
Miles also said good things about Los Angeles native Hayden Rettig, who redshirted in 2013 – his true freshman season. Rettig was a four-star recruit out of high school and the oddball of the Tigers’ bunch – the lone pocket passer of the trio comprised two-thirds of dual threat quarterbacks.
“I feel like both quarterbacks, Brandon Harris and Anthony Jennings, have gotten stronger and more capable,” Miles said last week. “Brandon, in his short amount of time here, has gained some weight and he looks a little bit better (than before enrolling). Hayden Rettig’s lost some weight, looks better, and had a nice practice today.
“All three have enjoyed a nice start to the spring.”
But while praising the youngsters, Miles did take time to say that there’s no replacement for experience. The coach said that Jennings and Rettig are a bit ahead of Harris so far this spring because of their knowledge of the playbook – something each has because of their time in LSU’s system.
Jennings has spent most of the spring working with LSU’s first team, while Rettig and Harris have rotated in the backup position.
“The older guys obviously know cadence, so there’s some comfort there,” Miles said. “But we want to allow a quality competitive environment for Brandon Harris and the other quarterbacks. We have to bring Brandon up to speed to get comfortable with the offense, and then see who’s best (of the three).”
The quarterback battle will dictate all of the headlines, but it is just one starting job up for grabs this spring.
Miles said the Tigers will use the spring practices to decide the team’s 2014 starting right guard – the lone offensive lineman departure on the team.
The coach said that like at quarterback, three players are competing for the spot. But Miles then tipped his hand and gave the player currently holding the starting position.
“Playing the best player is obviously the key,” Miles said. “We’re looking at Evan Washington, Ethan Pocic and Hoko Fanaika. We’ll have to see how that all goes, but right now, Evan is playing there (as the starter).”
Whether or not Washington stays the starter is unknown, but that decision will likely be heavily influenced by new, first-year offensive line coach Jeff Grimes, who is enjoying his first coaching work with the team since coming from Virginia Tech this past offseason.
Miles said Grimes has made an impact in the team’s locker room and is doing a nice job fitting in with the staff and the LSU players.
Grimes joins Bradley Dale Peveto as the lone new coaches on the LSU staff. Peveto is listed as a defensive assistant.
“I think Jeff Grimes really stepped in and really performed at practice like you’re supposed to,” Miles said. “He had a comfort. You can tell that guys are going to like him very, very well.
“He did a great job. … I enjoyed both new coaches.”
LSU will have 15 practices this spring, capped with the team’s spring game on April 5.
