True freshmen show LSU’s football future remains bright

Isn’t it amazing how life can sometimes change within a matter of minutes?

As I sat in my living room on Friday afternoon, I was ready to give up on my beloved college football until 2014.

LSU was losing to lowly Arkansas and senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger was hurt, hardly able to walk off the field.

With LSU owning no ability to win the SEC or national championship, I briefly let myself accept that the 2013 season was over and that it was time to turn the page to next year.

But like Louisiana’s weather, things quickly changed. With true freshman Anthony Jennings at the controls, the Tigers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, netting a 99-yard drive to secure a 31-27 win.

But much more important than just the win, Jennings’ heroics re-energized a spoiled and entitled LSU fan base that needed something to gravitate to after a kind of tough season that had been filled mostly with tough losses in close games.

The true freshman quarterback’s comeback drive showed me and the rest of the alumni base that the future is filled with promise, despite the mishaps happening in the present.

The most impressive thing about the comeback win for LSU are the players that had a hand within it.

Start with Jennings. The LSU backup quarterback had three passing attempts for his entire career prior to Friday afternoon’s game. Before Mettenberger’s injury, Jennings’ primary playing time came in garbage time and on quarterback sneaks.

But with a chance to run with the first-string offense, the former Blue Chip recruit showed why he was so highly recruited. Making plays with both his arm and legs, Jennings looked poised and marched the Tigers to the end zone.

With three more seasons in Baton Rouge, one would expect Jennings to lead LSU’s offense into the future. His favorite weapons in Friday’s win will likely be at his disposal in the future, as well.

On the quarterback’s second completion of the game, he hit sophomore tight end Dillon Gordon, a young player that has developed and matured throughout the year. By next year, Gordon is fully expected to be a steady receiver in offensive coordinator Cam Cameron’s scheme.

He then found junior Jarvis Landry on an out-route – a pass that was crisp and dead on the money. Landry is a player who could opt for the NFL following the season. But with a deep class of receivers heading to the pros, he may stay in school and chase a higher spot in the draft.

On the now-famous touchdown pass, Jennings hit fellow freshman Travin Dural, a speedster that will surely be a benefactor if Landry does go pro. Dural possesses world-class speed and could become a heck of a player if he develops a more muscular frame.

Throughout the entirety of the drive, Jennings was protected by an offensive line that doesn’t have a single senior starter – a group that also enjoyed some freshman flavor when starting center Elliott Porter went down and true freshman Ethan Pocic took his place.

Pocic didn’t miss a beat. It was fun to see the youngster shine.

After the touchdown drive, LSU’s defense had to hold Arkansas to secure the win.

The Razorbacks earned a first down and got to about their own 40-yard-line when true freshman defensive back Dwayne Thomas ripped the ball from Arkansas’ quarterback Brandon Allen on a blitz, a turnover that sealed the improbable win.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, cameras panned to Mettenberger, who cried with his teammates after playing his final home game in Tiger Stadium. Only then did it suddenly hit me: I’m an ungrateful, spoiled LSU fan.

A 9-3 season for a freshman and sophomore-laden team is a heck of a job for the Tigers in the modern SEC.

LSU is one of the youngest teams in the entire conference. With the exception of Mettenberger, most of the Tigers’ best players are underclassmen.

Jeremy Hill? Yeah, he’s just a sophomore.

Landry, Odell Beckham, Anthony Johnson, Terrence Magee? They’re totally just juniors.

Virtually the entire LSU defense besides Johnson and safety Craig Loston? Freshmen and sophomores.

With an inexperienced team and a road-happy schedule, the Tigers were doomed from the get-go in 2013 as far as the national championship is concerned. To beat quarterbacks like Aaron Murray, Bo Wallace and AJ McCarron all on the road, the Tigers would have needed a near-miracle – one of the great seasons in school history. The fact that they were within inches of winning two of those three games, while also stomping TCU, Florida, Auburn and Texas A&M, shows the promise the team has into the future.

If these boys are a Top 15 team as puppies, what will they be when they are three-year starters? Just how sharp with their bite be at that time? How far will they go when (yes, I said when) LSU adds elite five-star halfback Leonard Fournette in the 2014 recruiting class – a player being compared to Adrian Peterson by most all recruiting analysts?

It’s a series of daydreams that are years away, but have this Tigers’ graduate happy.

The 2013 season may have been hard to endure for some spoiled LSU fans, but the rough seas won’t last long.

The end of Friday’s win showed a first-hand glimpse that elite young players are sitting and waiting for their chance to have a turn.

And I can’t wait to see it unfold.