Myles Brennan surgery fallout: Ed Orgeron confident LSU can win big with Max Johnson at QB

Max Johnson can seize the starting quarterback job on the LSU football team while Myles Brennan recovers from his severe arm injury.

Though Myles Brennan will be out indefinitely with an arm injury that will require surgery, the LSU football program looks to be in good hands with Max Johnson taking over the starting quarterback job.

“Myles Brennan suffered a severe injury that will require surgery,” said LSU head coach Ed Orgeron in a statement on Monday evening. “His timeline is yet to be determined. Myles has done everything we have asked of him this summer and was in the fight to be the starting quarterback at LSU.”

Brennan had the tall task of replacing 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow as the Bayou Bengals starting quarterback in 2020. While he played well at times, injuries limited Brennan to only three games last season. Johnson and former LSU quarterback TJ Finley combined to start their final sevens games of the year, with Johnson playing very well down the stretch for them.

What are the chances Johnson ends up winning the job outright while Brennan is on the mend?

Max Johnson can make the most of his opportunity with Myles Brennan out

Orgeron would appear on Off The Bench on ESPN 104.5 FM in Baton Rouge on Tuesday morning to elaborate a bit on his team’s quarterbacking situation. While he feels that Brennan’s injury is “very unfortunate”, Orgeron added that Johnson “had a great spring, had a great summer.” So Johnson slots in nicely to fill the void felt at the starting quarterback position in Baton Rouge.

While Orgeron made it abundantly clear that Johnson is the new LSU starter, he will be backed up by former four-star Garrett Nussmeier and walk-on freshman Matt O’Dowd.

“Obviously Max [Johnson] is going to be our starter. He’s got to have a great camp. The depth chart is etched in sand,” said Orgeron. “He knows he’s got to perform, but I believe in Max just like I believe in Myles [Brennan]. We’ve got us a great quarterback, a great championship quarterback.”

Though Brennan has not been ruled out for the season, there is a chance he has played his last snap in LSU uniform. He is an upperclassman and could sadly lose his job to injury, this time for real. Johnson was the quarterback who got the start and won down in Gainesville over Florida to end the Gators’ hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff. Who could ever forget L-S-Shoe?

As for if Johnson can hold onto the starting job after Brennan returns, that is all contingent on how well he plays. If he struggles, then Nussmeier may get an opportunity, just like Johnson did a year ago. O’Dowd feels like a long shot to play, but did we envision LSU starting three different quarterbacks a season ago? For now, this is 100 percent Johnson’s job to lose. He has to step up.

Though losing Brennan indefinitely hurts, LSU is in a great position to hold steady with Johnson.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.