Brandon Harris handled bench, eventual transfer better than most of today's QBs
New LSU offensive coordinator Matt Canada has earned a reputation around the country as a bit of a quarterback whisperer.
That being said, Canada’s next project passer won’t be now-former Tiger Brandon Harris. The much-maligned rising senior announced Monday that he’s leaving the program after losing his starting job in 2016 to Danny Etling.
Jacoby Brissett, who couldn’t unseat Jeff Driskel at Florida, assembled a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 43-to-11 under Canada at North Carolina State from 2014-15. Nathan Peterman, who lost a battle with Joshua Dobbs at Tennessee, threw 27 TDs against 7 INTs in Canada’s system at Pittsburgh last season.
Some believed that Canada could make Harris more effective throwing the football, but he’ll never get a chance.
In terms of pure talent, Harris was a superior prospect to Etling. He was the No. 6 signal caller in the nation for the class of 2014, while Etling, who originally went to Purdue, was No. 28 the previous recruiting cycle.
However, it never clicked for Harris in Baton Rouge. He ends his Bayou Bengals career with a poor completion percentage of 53.9. Loaded with 4- and 5-star signees on both sides of the ball, much of LSU’s relative lack of success was blamed on Harris and his failure to live up to expectations out of Bossier City (La.) Parkway High School.
Smarter fans realize that ex-coach Les Miles continued to attract blue-chippers but did little to develop them into star players.
Current coach Ed Orgeron granted Harris a full release, meaning he’s free to go to any club in America that’ll have him — including another from the SEC. But more than likely, he’ll end up at a lesser level of competition.
Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Harris’s situation is far from unique as a product of that aforementioned class of field generals for 2014. Among the Top 10, an argument can be made that only two have lived up to their potential. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson (No. 2) just won a national title. Miami’s Brad Kaaya (10), like Watson, left early for the NFL Draft.
But check out the rest of the list. Harris has been no more or less successful at the collegiate level than most of them:
- Kyle Allen (No. 1) shared the starting job at Texas A&M with Kenny Hill in 2014 and then with Kyler Murray a year later. He sat out the 2016 campaign after transferring to Houston.
- Will Grier (3) sure looked like the quarterback Florida had been searching for after the departure of Tim Tebow. In 2015, he got suspended by the NCAA for performance-enhancing drugs and later transferred to West Virginia.
- Keller Chryst (4) finally earned his first start in Year 3 on campus at Stanford. He took over for Ryan Burns midseason and didn’t lose a game the rest of the way.
- Jerrod Heard (5) got his chance under center for Texas in 2015 yet didn’t do much with it. He moved to receiver last season and was sixth on the team in catches.
- David Cornwell (7) was one of three scholarship QBs that transferred from Alabama following the performance Jalen Hurts had as a freshman. Cornwell graduated and is eligible to play immediately at Nevada.
- Jacob Park (8) never attempted a single pass in his lone year at Georgia. He eventually unseated Joel Lanning as the starter at Iowa State this past season.
- Drew Barker (9) was thrown to the wolves in 2015 when Patrick Towles flamed out once and for all. Barker injured his back last year and will now have to beat out Stephen Johnson if he wants his job back.
Harris can also take solace in the fact that perhaps no team in the conference has done less with more at the game’s most important position lately.
Believe it or not, the last signal caller to sign with LSU as a high schooler and actually stick was Jordan Jefferson, who was part of the class of 2008. Harris is simply the next in a long line to seek greener pastures.
Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Russell Shepard was a 5-star recruit. He transitioned to wideout. Jerrard Randall, Hayden Rettig and Anthony Jennings were 4-star kids. Randall ended up at Arizona. Rettig left for Rutgers. Jennings took off for Louisiana. Zach Lee and Stephen Rivers were 3-star signees. Lee opted for baseball. Rivers moved on to Vanderbilt.
Justin McMillan and Lindsey Scott were both 3-star additions and came aboard after Harris, although neither is considered a candidate to start.
The most prolific passer of recent vintage, Zach Mettenberger, began at Georgia before a stint at Butler Community College. The Tigers have topped out at 101st nationally in passing yards per game since he ascended to the pros.
With Harris now having exited stage left, the Bayou Bengals will presumably roll with Etling again in 2017. Orgeron did sign a pair of 4-star passers this month in Myles Brennan and Lowell Narcisse. Brennan is the higher-rated of the two, although he won’t arrive until this summer. Narcisse is an early enrollee and available for spring ball.
While LSU fans are no doubt disappointed in how Harris’s story ended, they should give him a round of applause for how he handled it.
Needless to say, Harris couldn’t have been pleased when he was yanked in favor of Etling. It was only Week 2 of his junior season, but he could probably see his future in purple and gold disappear right before his eyes.
Still, he didn’t quit on the spot and immediately put himself on QB eBay. That brand of selfish behavior has become all too commonplace in today’s game. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and found a way to contribute to the program carrying a clipboard. Harris will graduate soon and be permitted to play right away no matter where he lands.
He was complimentary of the entire Tigers family on his way out the door. They should all be wishing Harris nothing but the best.
* All recruiting figures courtesy of the composite rankings at 247Sports.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
