With Myles Brennan sidelined due to injury, LSU is turning over the keys to its high-powered offense to true freshman T.J. Finley this weekend with South Carolina coming to Baton Rouge.

The Ponchatoula High School product beat out fellow freshman Max Johnson to land the starting job, as noted by Ed Orgeron on Thursday.

“It was a very close battle, but in the end, we felt that T.J. nudged Max just a little,” Orgeron said during his most recent press conference. “I wish I could start two (quarterbacks) but T.J. is going to be the starter, we are going to give him time to get his work done. I told Max I want to play him but it all depends on the flow of the game.”

During his senior season at Ponchatoula, Finley completed 168 passes for 2,738 yards and 21 touchdowns. During his high school career, Finley accounted for a total of 58 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns.

After naming Finley the starter, the LSU coach was asked what improvements the freshman signal-caller has made since the spring.

“Well, he lost some weight, he must have lost about 20 pounds, maybe more. He’s gotten into great shape,” Orgeron added. “T.J. is a hard worker, he’s very cerebral, he’s always studying football. He’s always had a cannon for an arm. It was more about putting a little touch and more or less reading the defense. Accuracy, I think he’s come a long way. Live bullets are going to be flying on Saturday, they are going to come after him. Let’s find out (what he can do).”

To get an idea of what Finley can do, check out his senior season highlight video: