Reclassifying is almost always a bad decision. Especially for QBs. Not that it doesn’t ever work out, but barring injuries, you are almost guaranteed to be better as a year older than you would have been every single season. . Makes it almost impossible to reach your absolute ceiling. And it greatly increases your risk without increasing your reward at all. Even moreso now that you can get NIL money in high school. Patience is a virtue that I want in a QB.

It’s only good for the schools who have 1 less year to have to keep recruiting you so and 1 less year that you can flip. But their risk is mitigated by being able to recruit other QBs. Your risk is all on you.

And I’m not just talking about football. You mature so much that senior year of high school. Emotionally. Mentally. Socially. And you just miss out on so many experiences that should make that one of the best years of your life.

I am always suspect of a program so desperate to get a 17 year old QB into the program than waiting a year just so they can have, what should be, a glorified camp arm and emergency QB in the building in case of a couple of injuries. Even more suspect if they are counting on one to come in and start. Just seems selfish and not in the best long-term interest of the player, the human being.

I know it’s just one person and anecdotal, but look at what happened to Hurley. Now he seemed committed to it very early, and may have gone elsewhere had LSU recommended he stay in his original class. (If they even had time. Not sure how long we were on him before he reclassed. Didn’t he do it a season earlier than is typical?). And I don’t know if being a year older and more mature would have prevented his problems here (rumors of drugs/alcohol may having contribute to his wreck). But true or not, it couldn’t have hurt. And now he’ll be at his 2nd school, in his 3rd season, having gotten very little development. He was getting 4th team reps behind Nuss, Collins, and AJ last year. And 3rd team this year at best behind Nuss and MVB. Even if this season went exactly the same, same development and still transferred, wouldn’t he be a lot better off long term only being a redshirt freshman and still having 4 years left instead of 3?

He may have learned some great life lessons that will serve him well in the future, but I think you get better at football by actually playing football. Even if it’s in high school. He basically wasted his ‘24 season, and for what?

Now everybody’s different, and Pop may be the exception, and Lane may be too. Assuming he comes. But Lane is too good at discovering and developing older QBs in a very short amount of time to rely on a guy who should be a senior in high school to be his starter or backup. If Pop reclassifies and is here next year instead of ‘27, he’s still gonna be 3rd or 4th on the depth chart most likely. Chambliss was going to Rutgers or Temple to be their starter for something like $350k, but Lane liked what he saw and was willing to pay him enough to come be his backup with only 1 season of eligibility.

And for Chambliss to agree to that, you’d have to assume it was at least $400-$500k. So Lane obviously values what older QBs can bring outside of just their skills set if he was willing to commit that much money to a guy he hoped would never even start for him. I can’t see him leaning on Pop to be his backup. And how much hands on development is he giving his 3rd or 4th string guys?

It’s not the only way to it, but in LSU’s best seasons since Saban got here:

2001–5th year Sr. Rohan Davey

2003–24-year-old Jr. Matt Mauck

2005–20-year-old 3rd year So. Jamarcus Russell (the outlier, but he wound up being the #1 pick)

2006–4th year So. Jamarcus Russell

2007–5th year Sr. Matt Flynn

2011–5th year Sr Jarrett Lee/4th year Sr. Jordan Jefferson

2012–4th year Sr. Zach Mettenberger

2018–4th year Jr. Joe Burrow

2019–5th year Sr. Joe Burrow

2022–4th year Jr/4th year starter Jayden Daniels

2023–5th year Sr./5th year starter—Jayden Daniels

There is a pattern here. All those teams had 21-24-year-old 4th or 5th year QBs except 2005. Which had its own exception in one of the biggest freak show QBs of all time
who would be the #1 overall pick the next season. Pop may very well the next exception. But the odds are overwhelmingly against his reclassification benefiting either him or LSU. And certainly not significant enough to take on the added risk.

All that bullshite typed—I ain’t gonna be mad at em if he does.