BATON ROUGE, La. — After former LSU starter Brandon Harris decided to transfer, junior quarterback Danny Etling rolls into spring camp as the clear favorite to keep the starting job over early enrollee Lowell Narcisse (Myles Brennan will arrive this summer) and sophomore Lindsey Scott Jr.

Etling led the Tigers to 7-3 record after becoming the starter in Week 3, replacing Harris, who started the previous 14 games. The Purdue transfer shined with his efficient decision-making, throwing for 2,123 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“That is a great example of a young man taking advantage of an opportunity,” former LSU All-SEC defensive end Chuck Wiley told Saturday Down South. “One guy wasn’t getting it done. We needed a change as far as the quarterback position. Not a change, some sort of burst, some sort of excitement or a flame lit at the quarterback position. I think he got it done. … He made the plays. … Simple as that.”

Narcisse was the the No. 9 dual-threat QB in the class. Brennan, also a 4-star recruit, was Mississippi’s high school all-time record holder in passing yards (15,138), passing touchdowns (166) and total offense (16,168 yards).

Scott enters the spring two years removed from a record-setting prep senior season at Zachary High, where he produced 5,002 total yards of offense and 61 touchdowns.

“They’ve got some talented guys on campus at the quarterback position that are going to be really good players, but I think it’s safe to say that Danny Etling is going to the quarterback,” former LSU running back Jacob Hester told Saturday Down South. “So now, (LSU offensive coordinator) Matt Canada can say, ‘OK, this is what Danny does well. This is what we are going to specialize in on offense.’ That is only going to help everyone else on the offense.”

Along with allowing Canada to scrap his dual-threat schemes based on Harris’ strengths, Etling’s experience will help the Tigers adapt quickly in Canada’s new system.

Canada will be fourth offensive coordinator Etling has worked with in the past four years. While at Purdue in 2013 and 2014, Etling worked with John Shoop before cycling through two coordinators at LSU: Cam Cameron (2015-2016) and interim Steve Ensminger (2016).

“Etling is pretty mature,” Joshua Thornton, the sports editor of the LSU student newspaper, The Daily Reveille, told Saturday Down South. “He should be able to learn Matt Canada’s new system pretty fast. He was able to grasp Steve Ensminger’s playbook. Even though there wasn’t that many changes, he was able to do what LSU asked him to do. I’m pretty sure he’ll fit right into that mold with Matt Canada.”

Although many fan bases prefer a dynamic dual-threat quarterback, the Tigers have faired better with the “game-manager” model in the form of Matt Flynn and Matt Mauck, who led LSU to its past two national titles.

In 2003, Mauck tied the LSU record for touchdown passes with 28 and the fifth-highest mark in Tigers’ history with a 64 percent completion percentage.

In 2007, Flynn notched 2,407 passing yards and 21 touchdowns, the fifth-most in program history.

Although his touchdown tally does not rival Mauck and Flynn’s during their championship seasons, Etling’s effectiveness parallels this duo’s style of play more than Zach Mettenberger’s comparative air raid numbers (3,082 yards, third all-time) in 2013.

Etling posted a 135.6 passing efficiency mark last season while completing 59.5 percent of his passes. More impressive, he threw just five interceptions in 269 attempts. Only one SEC quarterback — Sean White — threw fewer INTs with at least 200 attempts.

“I like the concept of having a quarterback who can manage the game, who doesn’t necessarily have to be the one that makes things happen,” longtime LSU fan John Allen told Saturday Down South. “The Matt Mauck, the Matt Flynn-type mentality of managing the game, doing what they do when they need to do it, but also knowing what the situation is.”