ESPN's Position that needs improvement: LSU

Harris or Jennings, who ya got? I say Harris. Jennings had a fair shot. He regressed.

It's Harris time!

quote:

---

Position to improve: Quarterback

Why it was a problem: LSU has had some mediocre seasons in the passing game under Les Miles, but 2014 was the low-water mark. The Tigers had the worst passing offense in the SEC (162.9 yards per game) and ranked 114th nationally. There were times when they struggled to complete even simple passes that should have kept drives alive, but instead resulted in punts. For the most part, if a defense was able to slow down the Tigers’ running game, Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris were completely unable to move the chains with completions. The blame largely falls on Jennings’ shoulders, as he started 12 games but passed for at least 200 yards just once (in the opener against Wisconsin) and completed more than 50 percent of his passes in just four games. Harris, a true freshman last season, received far less playing time – and he gave a couple of promising early performances – but there were also times when it looked like he had no idea what he was doing on the field.

How it can be fixed: By this point, it seems as though we know what Jennings can do. He might be able to progress if he gets a second season as a starter, but his strength at quarterback seems to be in his leadership and rapport with his teammates, not his skills. Granted, he was largely able to avoid catastrophic errors – he threw only seven interceptions – but Jennings was not accurate or aggressive enough as a passer. LSU’s offense would likely be more dangerous with Harris under center, as he clearly possesses more electric skills. The question is whether he can put it all together and win the job. It appeared as though he might do that after back-to-back strong efforts against Mississippi State and New Mexico State, but Harris’ disastrous start in a 41-7 loss at Auburn put an end to his playing in any important situations. This will be a huge spring for both players, as Miles has said the starting job is open again.

Early 2015 outlook: There has been offseason buzz about LSU accepting a quarterback transfer from a high-profile program – and we can’t rule out that possibility with any certainty – but for now it appears that the starter will be either Jennings or Harris again. With Leonard Fournette in the backfield, it seems reasonable to expect LSU to remain a run-first offense, but it has to do a better job in the passing game to become a championship contender. There were times last fall when LSU’s offense was completely awful, and Jennings’ shortcomings as a passer were the biggest reason why the problem existed. It will be a major issue for LSU if one of two things doesn’t happen: one, Jennings wins the job again and plays at a much higher level; or two, Harris proves he has a grasp of the offense, claims the starting job and allows Cam Cameron to open up the playbook. Either of those outcomes would signal progress. The status quo will not be good enough.

---

LINK