re: Quarterback selection

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I do think he was the front runner as soon as it was apparent the Brennan's heart wasn't in it or that his injuries had set him back (not sure what exactly was up there), possibly before.

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Or, when they grabbed Daniels out of the transfer portal when Brennan was still on the team and the "presumptive" starter. A 3 year starter with only 2 years of eligibility doesn't transfer to a school for a "shot to compete" or in hopes the "starter's heart is not in it." The coaching staff back in February knew they wanted a QB with more mobility. That's why they pounced when Daniels became available.

The coaches have said all of the right things publicly. But they didn't get Daniels and Daniels isn't here because the coaches felt he could be a really good backup to Brennan. They got him because they weren't sold on Brennan as the starting QB. Nothing personal against the guy, but LSU has been trying to move on from him since before he stepped foot on campus.

2017 - Brennan committed for 6 months...Orgeron makes a hard push to flip Tua from Alabama

2018 - Brennan's the presumptive starter going into the Spring. Post spring, LSU brings in a transfer in May who has LESS significant game experience than Brennan and only 2 years of eligibility remaining. That player (Burrow) wasn't going somewhere to just sit the bench for another 2 years.

2021 - Johnson was going to be frontrunner in camp given that in Orgeron's mind he salvaged an otherwise bad 2020 season by winning the final two games.

2022 - Brennan as a 6th year Senior is on the roster...LSU adds a 3 year starting QB to the team in February.

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That would mean Kelly is not the coach many of us think he is.

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A guy who is trying to put the best personnel on the field?

For the most part, players don't transfer because they are looking to go somewhere they HOPE they can contribute. They want to play. It is why Burrow left OSU. He wasn't interested in a school where he could "potentially" play in 2018. He already had that at OSU. With only 2 years of eligibility remaining he wanted to go to a place he KNEW he would play. Thus, he was not coming to LSU unless it was impressed upon him that was going to happen.

Same for Daniels. He's been a starting QB his entire college career. With options available, he wasn't going to transfer to a place where it seemed likely he was going to sit the bench for a year or two.

The only wildcard that has been in place since Spring is if Nussmeier was going to progress so much and perform so well that the coaches simply could not keep him off the field. They had, internally, moved on from the idea of Brennan being the starter. Daniels didn't just start getting most of the 1st team reps in camp because "Brennan's heart wasn't in it". It's because the coaches felt that was going to be the eventual plan all along.

We can...and will...debate as to whether or not we think Daniels will be a great QB. But I think it has been pretty clear Brennan was never seriously in the mix...regardless of what the coaches would say.