LSU Football: Don't be surprised if this is the start of the Jennings era at QB

I hear the collective moans, LSU Tigers fans. The majority of you had your hearts set on much-heralded freshman Brandon Harris getting the nod at signal-caller for your beloved, and uber-talented, Bengal Tigers in the season-opener.

As we tend to do as a society, we immediately toss out what’s perceived as being stale for whatever we consider fresh, hot and new — and not necessarily in that particular order.

Don’t get me wrong; Harris has unbelievable ability as witnessed in his breakout performance in LSU’s annual spring game. His ability to improvise — in and out of the pocket — was not unlike what we saw “Johnny Football” do for the past couple of seasons at Texas A&M.

His arm looked strong, and at times he looked as though he was the type of QB that could put a team on his back and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

But guess what, Tiger faithful?

Those same exact characteristics were used to describe sophomore QB Anthony Jennings after he helped the Tigers pull out that exciting game against the rival Arkansas Razorbacks in the penultimate game of last season.

You hear what I’m saying?

Jennings was Harris in an actual game pretty much the last time the Tigers suited up. Now I get why Jennings has drawn the ire (which may be too intense of a noun) of some of you fans.

Jennings’ follow-up performance was reminiscent of some one-hit wonders in music: Baha Men (Who let the dogs out?), Snow (Informer) and Right Said Fred (I’m too sexy) immediately come to mind (did I just admit to thinking about that Right Said Fred song publicly?).

His performance in the Outback Bowl against the University of Iowa left a lot to be desired. His statline: 7-for-19, 82 yards with one interception, was certainly nothing to phone home to mom about.

But his brief time in the “Battle for the Golden Boot” certainly was.

And while I may be in the minority — which takes on a few different meanings — Jennings showed me he has what it takes to excel in offensive coordinator Cam Cameron’s multi-pronged offensive attack.

Now run and tell that, homeboy.

Five-Tool Player

Now calling Jennings a five-tool player may be a bit of hyperbole, but if you’ve actually read my work, previously, I’ve been known to jump off the deep end a time or two. But I’ve been following Jennings for quite a while since he starred for the Marietta Blue Devils here in Atlanta, Georgia (wait, don’t click the X).

The first thing that was noticeable about Jennings was his ability to make opposite-hash throws out of his spread offense which mixed in pro-style principles. Some coaches have to compensate for lack of arm strength by moving the pocket, which in turn cuts down on the depth of the throw.

When I found out that Cameron was interested in him for his style of offense, it made complete sense. In Cameron’s play-action based scheme, QBs should possess the arm talent to hit deep-ins, comebacks and post-routes.

It’s also a big help if the QB has enough mobility to keep the action alive as the receivers complete their vertical routes; Jennings excels at that aspect of quarterbacking.

Here we see Jennings at Marietta High School displaying his play-making ability. In this Shotgun-Vertical play, Jennings shows that he’s a QB first, athlete second. As we all saw with Harris in the spring game, his first inclination is to take off when his primary is not open — as to be expected with a true freshman QB getting his first snaps at the collegiate level.

Jennings is similar in the aspect that he can run if necessary, but his eyes will always remain fixated downfield in an effort to get the ball to his playmakers. He evaded the front- and back-side pressure, and then he delivered a frozen rope to the X-receiver; he has an innate feel for the pocket.

On this particular sequence, a rollout off play action, we saw how great Jennings works with his back to the basket, so to speak; he did a wonderful job whipping his head around after the fake.

He quickly deciphered that the defense was in an underneath zone with help over the top. Instead of trying to fit the ball in a tight space, he led the receiver away from the coverage and put it on him in time for the receiver to brace for impact.

Here’s an example of Jennings’ wheels. After seeing the strong-side edge-rusher get demolished, he decided to pick up the yardage with his legs.

And in typical Jennings fashion, he doesn’t get out of bounds instead opting to lower his pad level in an attempt to truck a defender. It’s plays like that which will galvanize an entire roster.

Unfazed By The Moment

To get your first extended action in a pressure-packed situation — such as the season finale (after the fourth quarter injury to starter Zach Mettenberger) — is one thing. To be expected to lead your team to victory is another. That’s the exact situation Jennings found himself in when he made possibly the play of the year.

While most probably think of this as your average run-of-the-mill throw, the nuances involved make it even more special.

Working off combination routes to the outside, Jennings freezes both the safety and the corner with a quick glance to the underneath out-route. He then shows off that cannon he possesses by putting enough air on the ball that his receiver never had to break stride (look at how effortlessly he threw the pass).

Most true freshmen may have been so nervous that they’d take the easy underneath pass. Or the pressure of the situation would cause them to overthrow the receiver.

But Jennings is completely unfazed by tense situations. If any of you have viewed footage of Tigers’ practice, you would notice how teammates gravitate to Jennings as he seems to have the pulse of the squad.

He’s constantly encouraging players after every drill, and he’s always eager to get involved in the physical part of practice — which coincides with the physical nature in which he runs.

This Tigers squad is littered with talent on both sides of the ball; a true leader at the QB position could put this team in position to accomplish big things. The best thing that could happen is for Jennings to be highly successful and have Harris follow behind that in a couple of season.

Either way it shakes out, LSU has two talented QBs on its roster.

Now that’s scary…