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LSU’s Les Miles, as strong-willed and stiff-necked as any coach in the SEC, finally surrendered to the will of the masses.
Brandon Harris, his talented-but-flawed quarterback, didn’t play well in a season-opening loss to Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Once he began 1-of-4 in the home opener Saturday against Jacksonville State, Miles brought out the hook.
Purdue transfer Danny Etling entered the huddle. While he didn’t exactly light the world on fire, he helped turn a 3-0 deficit in the second quarter to the lowly Gamecocks into a runaway 34-13 victory. When he found DeSean Smith for a 46-yard touchdown pass on his first drive, the page turned from Harris.
Etling finished 6-of-14 for 100 yards with the one TD, although he was intercepted once. He also scored on a 2-yard run.
The Bayou Bengals open conference play Saturday against Mississippi State at Tiger Stadium. Even if Etling is the presumptive starter at the game’s most important position, Miles is yet to make that news official.
A 6-foot-3, 218-pounder from Bossier City in the recruit-rich Pelican State, Harris had all the measurables necessary to succeed as a signal caller. Good size, strong arm, nimble feet — he was supposed to be a star. However, whatever the reason, he has failed to develop. As a result, LSU’s passing offense has been dormant.
Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron deserve some of the blame, as the system in Baton Rouge appears archaic at times.
But it’s a classic chicken-or-the-egg argument. Maybe Harris (below) hasn’t shown any improvement due to subpar coaching, or perhaps the scheme is simplified because the staff doesn’t have any faith that he can operate a more elaborate game plan.
One way or another, a clean break from Harris looks to be the best decision for the Tigers going forward. Too often, tailback Leonard Fournette has to carry the load himself. Too often, receivers Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural are left to wilt on the outside. Death Valley was ready to riot before Etling’s number finally got called.
According to Pete DiPrimio, a columnist for the Ft. Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel, Etling is quite the driven young man.
“He was the first recruit Darrell Hazell visited as soon as he got the Purdue job,” DiPrimio told Saturday Down South. “He was a four-star prospect from a high school (90 miles) from Purdue. He projected as the Boilers’ quarterback for the next four years. He seemed tough, talented, mature, disciplined and determined to win the job, and he did.”
Unquestionably, Etling will have the kind of teammates at LSU he could’ve only dreamed of at Purdue. The Tigers are expected to challenge for national championships. The Boilermakers would settle for bowl eligibility.
“He was solid after replacing the struggling Rob Henry as the starter four games into his freshman season (2013) and showed a big arm and plenty of promise the rest of that year,” DiPrimio said. “He was the starter at the beginning of the next season but struggled with accuracy and turnovers. He was unable to consistently hit deep passes, often missing open receivers.”
Right out of high school, he completed 55.8 percent of his passes and assembled a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 10-to-7 in West Lafeyette. However, as DiPrimio suggested, Etling didn’t show any growth as a sophomore in 2014. His completion percentage actually dipped to 54.9, and his ratio was a disappointing 6-to-5.
“To be fair,” DiPrimio said, “pass protection wasn’t great and he didn’t have superstar receivers to throw to, so his struggles weren’t all his fault. Meanwhile, Purdue continued to lose.”
The aforementioned Fournette, who sat out the Jacksonville State game while dealing with an ankle injury, is the best back in the country when healthy. Dupre and Dural are both NFL-caliber wideouts. Needless to say, Etling (above) will be supported like never before. This is why he came to LSU.
“He finally lost his job to Austin Appleby,” DiPrimio said, “and Appleby played well enough to stay as the starter the rest of the season and projected to keep it the next year. Etling didn’t want to be a backup, so he decided to transfer. It wasn’t a surprise.”
Still, Baton Rouge is a long way from Terre Haute, the small town in basketball-crazy Indiana that produced Etling.
“LSU seemed a surprise at first, until you realized Cam Cameron was the offensive coordinator and he’s from Terre Haute,” DiPrimio said. “He was certainly aware of Etling’s background and ability.”
Fans had totally soured on Harris, so they would’ve been happy to see a walk-on at QB. It was ideal for Etling, who made a couple of quality throws early and turned jeers into cheers. Nevertheless, he faced an FCS-level cupcake.
“Being the backup for a bad Big Ten team didn’t seem to make him a logical candidate to become a starter for an SEC power,” DiPrimio said, “but he seems to have earned the position. Maybe this time, he’ll keep it.”
Technically, even after laying that egg against Wisconsin, all season goals remain intact for the Tigers. September losses are more forgivable in the eyes of voters than November losses. Beating Mississippi State in Week 3 would get them off on the right foot in league play. They also get to host Alabama this year.
No reasonable fan sees Etling winning games by himself. But some of them believe Harris was single-handedly losing them.
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.
John Crist is an award-winning contributor to Saturday Down South.
