Ed Orgeron said he’s considering starting Max Johnson at quarterback this week.

Good idea.

In fact it shouldn’t require a whole lot of consideration.

Start Johnson against Florida on Saturday night in the Swamp.

See what he can do.

Johnson has played in 4 games this season. He has entered games that were lost causes. He has entered 1 game that was already a victory in hand (South Carolina).

He has done some good things and done some bad things. He has been inconsistent, just like the quarterback he has been relieving periodically (TJ Finley) ever since Myles Brennan was injured in the third game of the season.

But Johnson hasn’t started a game yet.

Finley and Johnson have been considered a tandem ever since they arrived on campus as freshmen nearly a year ago.

Brennan was going to be the starter this season, but no other quarterback on the roster had ever taken a snap in a college game.

Finley and Johnson arrived to compete to be the No. 2 quarterback. There was no spring practice for them to compete in, nor were there any conventional summer workouts.

After preseason camp they were still considered even.

When it became clear that the injury Brennan suffered and played through at Missouri was going to sideline him against Florida, the freshmen competed in practice for the opportunity to start.

Then the game against Florida was postponed from Oct. 17 until this Saturday.

Finley and Johnson kept competing in practice for the opportunity to start against South Carolina.

Orgeron said the competition was close. He waited until late in the week before he named Finley the starter. He suggested both would play meaningful snaps.

But Finley got off to a good start. The running game was working and Finley was operating efficiently.

The Tigers understandably stayed with Finley rather than risk disrupting what was working. Johnson finally got some mop-up work after LSU had control of what wound up a 52-24 victory.

Finley earned the start the following week at Auburn.

But playing on the road, against a better team, against a defense that had film of Finley to study, made things very different. Finley committed 3 turnovers. They led to 21 points. Auburn rolled 48-11.

Johnson got more mop-up duty, this time in a lopsided loss instead of a lopsided win. He produced a late touchdown.

Finley went the distance and helped lead the Tigers to a 27-24 victory at Arkansas. It was reminiscent of Finley’s and the team’s success against South Carolina.

LSU hung in against Texas A&M even though Finley and Johnson both struggled. Then Finley threw a pick-6 that broke the game open. Johnson produced a shutout-avoiding touchdown in the final minute of a 20-7 loss.

Then No. 1 Alabama came to Tigers Stadium last Saturday and blasted the Tigers 55-17.

Finley completed 14-of-28 for 144 yards and a touchdown. Johnson completed 11-of-17 for 110 yards.

“I thought he looked his best against Alabama,” Orgeron said of Johnson. “I thought he was crisp. I thought he went through his progression well. His ball came out very well. He threw very catchable balls. He can scramble, run. I think he’s tough. He’s a hard worker. So is TJ. I think both of those guys are very similar.”

There is still no separation in the competition to guide the offense the rest of this season (which we now know won’t include a bowl game), compete to be the No. 2 next season, or perhaps No. 1, and perhaps succeed Brennan farther down the road.

The one dynamic that hasn’t been applied to this competition is Johnson starting and Finley backing him.

How does Johnson handle game preparation knowing that he’s going to start? How does he perform when he takes the Tigers’ first offensive snap and runs the offense during the formative stages of the game?

But there’s a flip side to this opportunity as well.

How does Finley handle his game preparation knowing that he’s not going to start? How does he perform when he enters the game from the bullpen, after the game has begun trending – either positively or negatively?

Starting Johnson would provide more insight into him.

It would also provide more insight into Finley.

And that seems worth doing.