LSU has had 13 quarterbacks of record during the 21st century.

During that time the Tigers have played for 4 national championships, won 3, and 2 of their quarterbacks were the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft – JaMarcus Russell (2007) and Joe Burrow (2020).

But there have been less impressive times for the guys under center, too. Some LSU teams have been hamstrung by an inability to find one consistently effective quarterback to provide an offensive identity.

There were highly touted recruits that didn’t live up to expectations, less highly touted recruits who exceeded expectations and transfers who rode to the rescue.

Here is a ranking of LSU’s starting quarterbacks of the 21st century:

13. Josh Booty (2000)

Booty was a highly touted recruit who passed on an initial opportunity to play for the Tigers in the mid-1990s to pursue a professional baseball career. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 1994 MLB Draft. He reached the major leagues and played 13 games before retiring. He resumed his football career in 1999, and as a sophomore started the first 4 games of the century.

It’s easy to wonder what might have happened if Booty had chosen football over baseball and focused on being the Tigers’ quarterback right out of high school. He finished with 24 career TD passes and 34 interceptions.

12. Anthony Jennings (2013-15)

Jennings went 9-4 as a starter, but that was spread across 3 seasons as he never held the starting position consistently before transferring to Louisiana-Lafayette. He finished with 12 career TDs and 8 INTs.

11. Brandon Harris (20014-16)

Harris’ career resembled that of Jennings as they competed for the job without either ever getting a firm grip on it. Harris went 10-5 as a starter and finished with 20 TDs and 10 INTs. Like Jennings, he didn’t finish at LSU as he transferred to North Carolina.

10. Marcus Randall (2001-04)

Randall passed for nearly 3,000 yards in his career, but he already is immortalized for the 74 yards that came on a touchdown pass to Devery Henderson. The “Bluegrass Miracle” came on the game’s final play and gave the Tigers a 33-30 victory against Kentucky in Lexington in 2002.

9. Jarrett Lee (2008-11)

Lee played for 4 seasons but is best remembered for the way he stepped in when Jordan Jefferson was suspended during the 2011 season.

Jefferson was suspended for the first 4 games and Lee helped lead the Tigers to a 4-0 start that grew to 8-0 as Lee held onto the starting job for the No. 1-ranked team even after Jefferson’s return.

But Lee struggled against Alabama and Jefferson came off the bench to inject just enough offense for LSU to manage a 9-6 overtime victory against the No. 2 Tide. Jefferson started the rest of the way as the Tigers took a 13-0 record into the BCS Championship rematch against Bama.

LSU’s offense was even less effective against the Tide the second time around, but coach Les Miles never put Lee in the game and the Tigers lost 21-0. Lee finished his career with 32 TD passes and 21 INTs.

8. Jordan Jefferson (2008-11)

Jefferson and Lee will forever be linked in Tiger lore as fans wonder if Lee could have made a difference had Miles given it to him in the 2011 title game.

But Miles felt more comfortable with Jefferson’s dual-threat capabilities than Lee’s pocket passing. Jefferson helped lead LSU to a 24-8 record in his career, finishing with 34 TD passes and 20 INTs.

7. Danny Etling (2016-17)

The Tigers were in a quarterback slump when Etling transferred from Purdue. After sitting out the 2015 season, he passed for more than 4,500 yards with 27 TDs and helped lead LSU to a 16-7 record over 2 seasons.

6. Zach Mettenberger (2011-13)

Mettenberger arrived as a transfer from Georgia (via Butler Community College) and had one of the most prolific passing careers in LSU history.

He completed 61.8% of his passes for 5,783 yards and helped lead the Tigers to a 19-6 record.

Mettenberger passed for 3,082 yards with 22 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions in 2013. He finished with 35 career TD passes.

5. Rohan Davey (1998-01)

Davey played a little bit in 1998, 1999 and 2000 before earning the starting job in 2001. He passed for 4,415 yards and had 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in his career.

He left a lasting mark with a Sugar Bowl-record 444 passing yards in a victory over Illinois in his final season.

4. Matt Flynn (2004-07)

Flynn didn’t have the gaudiest statistics (3,096 career yards, 31 career TDs), but a couple of details earned him this lofty position.

He helped lead LSU to a victory against Ohio State in the BCS Championship after the 2007 season – the final game of his career.

3. Matt Mauck (2001-03)

Mauck, who played professional baseball before becoming the Tigers quarterback, had a career similar to Flynn’s.

He helped lead LSU to a victory against Oklahoma in the BCS Championship after the 2003 season – the final game of his career. He finished with 3,831 yards and 37 TDs.

2. JaMarcus Russell (2004-06)

Russell completed 61.9% of the passes in his career for 6,625 yards and 52 TDs, and helped lead the Tigers to a 52-21 record.

He was named the Most Valuable Player in a Sugar Bowl victory over Notre Dame before being selected No. 1 overall by the Oakland Raiders in the 2007 NFL Draft.

1. Joe Burrow (2018-19)

There wasn’t much drama about this spot, huh?

Burrow arrived as a graduate transfer from Ohio State and in 2 years had a bigger impact than any other quarterback in LSU history.

He finished with the highest-completion percentage (68.5), most touchdown passes (76) and second-most yards (8,565) in his LSU career while helping lead his team to a 25-3 record.

He capped it with one of the most prolific passing seasons in NCAA history, which earned him the Heisman Trophy by a record margin during the Tigers’ CFP Championship season. His 60 TD passes and 5,671 yards obliterated the previous SEC records.

The Cincinnati Bengals made Burrow the overall No. 1 pick in April.