LSU football: 3 biggest offseason questions facing Ed Orgeron’s Tigers in 2021

1. Who is going to be the starting quarterback?

For as good as the defense could be with Derek Stingley Jr. as the star in the secondary, the only way LSU challenges Alabama in the SEC West is if they get better play out of the quarterback position. While they are never going to be able to recreate what they got out of Joe Burrow in that magical 2019 season, LSU must pick the right guy to lead them out of this quarterbacking quartet.

Out of fall camp, Myles Brennan was the starter, but a season-ending injury forced TJ Finley into action. By the end of the year, Max Johnson was starting games for the Bayou Bengals. Now with four-star pro-style passer Garrett Nussmeier enrolling early, there is going to be a lot of quarterbacking talent in Baton Rouge, duking it out for reps at every spring and fall practice.

Age and experience probably favor Brennan to win out. Although, Johnson is the son of a former Super Bowl champion quarterback Brad Johnson and played well down the stretch for LSU. While Nussmeier probably will not play much at all as a true freshman, he is the son of the Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, so you know he has been coached up before.

Ultimately, this is Brennan’s job to lose. If Finley does not get the backup gig, he might be a candidate to transfer after spring practice. Should Johnson maintain the starting spot, that could send shockwaves throughout the entire program. Fortunately, a full offseason worth of work and a job not quite fully solidified will give us an answer to LSU’s most important question.

So as we look at the LSU football team heading into the heart of the offseason, we are left with a few big questions that need answering. They will need some young players to step up, possibly true freshman. LSU needs Stingley to be the best defensive player in the conference. Most importantly, they need to put to rest any quarterbacking controversies before Labor Day.

If LSU can answer these three big offseason questions, they can push for a New Year’s Six bowl.

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