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LSU quarterback Myles Brennan hardly impressed in last year’s spring game, but looked much-improved at the helm on Saturday.
When Orgeron was asked about what he was most impressed with from his backup after the game, he spoke to his intangibles just as much as his abilities on the field.
“Him maturing, him taking leadership, playing with fire, being out there. Being the quarterback we’ve seen when he came in. He was a kid full of fire. He has a really quick release, and you see it out there. His accuracy and his understanding of the offense.”
Current starting quarterback Joe Burrow says he’s confident that Brennan could get the job done if he were to be sidelined, and gave the impression that the backup could eventually be running neck-and-neck with him.
“I feel like he can come in and the offense wouldn’t miss a beat if I had to go down,” he said. “And I’m really excited about his growth as a player and his growth as a leader as well. He’s getting a lot better, and he’s got a ways to go, too. I know he’s excited about where we are as an offense, and I’m excited about where he is. He’s right there with me.”
Brennan finished the game 16-of-24 passes for 212 yards, and 4-of-9 passes for 41 yards with the first team offense.
These numbers are much better than the ones from 2018’s spring game, when Brennan completed 11-of-23 passes for 113 yards, and was the only signal-caller to not throw a touchdown pass.
And it’s not just the stats that indicated Brennan is turning the corner.
Brennan looked much more comfortable and confident in the pocket, got the ball out of his hands more quickly than we’ve previously seen and was able to deliver some explosive plays he hadn’t quite been able to execute in the past.
These included a 24-yard pass to Jaray Jenkins, a throw to Dee Anderson that resulted in a 41-yard gain, a 44-yard deep ball to Racey McMath and a 20-yard dart that set up a Clyde Edwards-Helaire touchdown run.
With Brennan’s evident improvement, it will be interesting to see how things shake out at the quarterback position in upcoming seasons.