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If LSU started the 2015 football season today, Brandon Harris would be the starting quarterback.

The sophomore bomber from Bossier City took the first snap with the first team when LSU opened practice for the season on Thursday and has taken most of the snaps over the last two days – at least at the times the media was allowed to watch practice.

On Saturday, according to one observer, Harris threw passes of varying lengths with the effortless power of former cannon-armed quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who still holds LSU records for completion percentage in a season (.678 in 2006), touchdown passes in a season (28 in 2006 with Matt Mauck in 2003) completions in a season (232 in 2006) and consecutive completions (14 vs. Mississippi State in 2006).

According to players, though, returning junior starter Anthony Jennings has looked very good, too, despite missing all summer workouts and seven-on-seven passing drills while serving a suspension for a June arrest. Pending charges from that arrest were recently dropped, and he rejoined the team just as practice was about to start.

“Yeah, he started first,” LSU coach Les Miles said of Harris without a lot of excitement. “Starting first is not as important as finishing first, and certainly not as important as playing dominant football when we get to Saturdays.”

“I really kind of challenged the room that whoever is our quarterback, he should be a dominant player and somebody that is looking to serve the team and serve the receivers and serve the offense and look to improve certainly,” Miles said.

Jennings, who started 12 of 13 games in an 8-5 season last year, did not do a lot of serving last year as he finished 13th in the SEC and 83rd nationally in passing efficiency at 118.3 and did not complete 50 percent of his passes. Harris looked much better in relief spots, but he did not play well in his only start at Auburn. Harris has been a different story since the summer, according to junior wide receiver Travin Dural.

“Brandon went today, and I didn’t think he made a mistake,” Dural said on Thursday. “I didn’t think he made the wrong read or the wrong check.”

With Jennings suspended at the time, Harris took virtually all of the snaps for six weeks in June and July during seven-on-seven drills with receivers and running backs against defensive backs and linebackers.

“Brandon threw real well this summer,” Dural said. “I don’t think he got tired with having to throw more since Anthony wasn’t there. He was still making throws 50, 60 yards downfield.”

Dural noticed that Harris had grasped more of the playbook during seven-on-seven drills, where coaches are not present.

“We ran the plays we ran during the season,” Dural said. “Brandon grasped that, and I noticed his maturity. He’s grown up a lot. He’s a guy who went from thinking he had to make every throw a touchdown for 80 yards to a guy who just settles for a check-down or a shorter throw to get the ball in our hands for completions.”

JENNINGS SHARP TOO: Then again, Dural thought Jennings has looked very good, too.

“He was making the right checks,” he said. “You could swear Anthony was never gone for two months. You could swear he’s just been with us the whole summer because he was a guy who just was flowing, and he was just naturally fitting in with the offense.”

Dural said Jennings stayed in game shape during his suspension. “He was out the whole summer, but he has looked good,” he said. “I can tell he’s been working all summer on his own. He still knew the playbook. He’s making the right reads, making the right checks.”