After two years at Purdue, quarterback Danny Etling reached out to LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron in search of “another experience.”

At least, that’s the way LSU coach Les Miles tells it.

Miles dropped that nugget of information during his session of the SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday as he previewed No. 18 LSU’s trip to Auburn, which is set for a 6 p.m. ET kickoff this Saturday on ESPN. Etling is still the presumed starter after replacing Brandon Harris against Jacksonville State two weeks ago.

“We were very pleased (with Etling) and more so now,” Miles said. “We watched his Purdue tape and we recognized he could throw the football and handled the experiences his team was going through. We felt we could bring him on, a tireless worker. He has matured. We felt he had all the characteristics we like in a starter.”

Miles said Harris, who started all last season and opened this season in the same role, is still working and preparing “in a backup position.” The coach noted Harris’ skill set and said the junior is improving.

Miles spoke on a number of other topics during his 10-minute window.

On receivers coach Dameyune Craig, a former Auburn quarterback who coached there the last three seasons:

“He has personally challenged each guy in this room. Very competitive man. We go to practice to meet that challenge. The wide receiver group is certainly doing that. … He knows what the QB sees, he makes the route concept come to life. He understands from the quarterback’s vantage, how to describe it, how to make it come to life. It makes a difference.”

On the challenges of facing former defensive coordinator Kevin Steele:

“It will be very interesting. He always runs a quality defense. He was a great defensive coordinator for me, and I appreciated his contribution and what he did (here). He knows more about us than we would like to, but we probably know him more than he would like us to. When the guy knows your thoughts, that’s an advantage.”

Of running back Leonard Fournette and his “struggles” while recovering from an ankle injury:

“Fournette got injured in camp and that slowed his progress. He’s averaged 130 yards per game, (maybe) a little more. I don’t know that that is struggling. Coming off injury really well, he’s returning to form. I don’t see the struggles.”