BATON ROUGE, La. — Shortly after Joe Burrow transferred to LSU, Owen Brennan spoke to a reporter about why his son wasn’t going anywhere. Myles Brennan was a four-star freshman at the time who was expected to be the savior of LSU’s offense. He was supposed to be the one to bring LSU’s offense into the future.
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Then LSU signed Burrow. Deep down everyone knew right then Burrow would be LSU’s starter, but Owen spoke to the Biloxi Sun Herald and said: “(Myles) is going to compete and feels very comfortable with where his position is right now.” He’s always talked about how Brennan was raised to compete and how he’d try to beat out Burrow for the job.
For five seasons that is exactly what Brennan did, and that is what he’ll be remembered for. He’s the guy who stayed, the guy who worked and improved and waited his turn in an era when so few do. And he’s the quarterback who couldn’t catch a break, the one who tore his abdominal three games into his chance to be a starter, the one who broke his arm days before camp this summer.
So by the time Brennan decided to leave LSU — which he did Monday morning — no LSU coach or fan could hold a single thing against him. He had done more than they could ask, and the one who stayed finally was going to find his chance.
“He was teary-eyed,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “It was a tough decision for him. He thought he just needed to find a place he felt he could go play at for one year and start.”
Brennan’s own statement Monday confirmed this reasoning, saying that he loves LSU and was loyal to Orgeron and his teammates but ending with: “I look forward to what is next and finding the best fit to help me achieve my dream of being an NFL quarterback.”
Make no mistake, this decision was difficult for Brennan. Just days before his decision, conversations with those close to Brennan indicated he was still excitedly anticipating being cleared soon and perhaps starting LSU’s final two or three games. So much depended on the NCAA’s ruling on a medical redshirt this season — still undecided — but Orgeron said Monday it no longer looked like Brennan would be ready for this season.
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Those close to him indicated Brennan was still rationalizing staying at LSU in 2022. Brennan’s thinking was that after the Orgeron firing, whether he stayed or left he’d have to meet a whole new coaching staff, learn a new system and compete for a starting job. If both situations were the same, it would be tough to leave the place where he has built relationships and earned a degree and has a longtime girlfriend. “All things being equal, why leave LSU?” one source said of Brennan’s thinking.
Ultimately, Brennan went into Orgeron’s office, tears in his eyes, to tell him he’ll be pursuing new options. It’s difficult to argue with the choice, considering he’s going to be a sixth-year senior turning 25 who doesn’t have the luxury of wasting time. He can’t risk another year of not starting and displaying what he can do.
What the future looks like for Brennan
In a vacuum, a healthy Brennan is good enough to start for a number of Power 5 programs. He’s a 6-foot-4, 210-pound veteran with a cannon arm who averaged 370 yards per game in three SEC starts. He was still growing into the position before his bizarre 2020 injury, improving with each start while still tossing up big numbers with NFL-caliber throws. Of course, that was a small sample size, but it’s better evidence of success than most have.
On the other hand, he’s an older quarterback who has been injured in three of the last four seasons. He was quietly battling a back injury for much of the 2018 season behind Burrow, on top of the abdominal injury in 2020 and the broken arm in 2021. His durability will be a concern.
It’s tough to know what kind of market Brennan will have. One would assume a few SEC teams will be interested, but maybe he’ll look closely at Group of 5 schools in the area where he might be able to easily start. Southern Miss, for example, is just 73 miles north of his hometown of Long Beach, Miss., and has a talented offensive mind at head coach in Will Hall. His father, Owen, played football at Tulane. These are all just speculative suggestions, but they could frame the possibilities.
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If Brennan receives the medical redshirt — which he and LSU have argued he should receive since the 2020 season shouldn’t count as a medical redshirt because all players got a free year of eligibility due to the pandemic — he’ll have two years of eligibility remaining. Still, with his age, you figure he’d like to have one good season and take his chances at the NFL.
What the future holds for LSU’s quarterback room
Everyone must operate with less certainty during a coaching change. In an era of transfers, there are zero assurances any player or commit will be on LSU’s roster next year. Still, if LSU’s next head coach can maintain relationships the Tigers should have their most promising quarterback room in recent memory.
Max Johnson will only be a junior, and even with a struggling offensive line and minimal running game Johnson has thrown for 2,008 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games. He hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been productive. It can’t be understated how little support he’s had at times.
Behind Johnson, LSU has a top-100 prospect in freshman Garrett Nussmeier, an exciting and mobile young player with a gunslinger mentality who has already shown potentially elite playmaking skills in the few times he’s come in. He’s raw, and he makes some risky decisions, but he has a chance to be a star.
Because he’s appeared in three games already, Orgeron said LSU is still debating when to play him again so not to waste his redshirt (he can play four games without burning the redshirt). The point, though, is Orgeron made clear LSU plans to preserve that redshirt.
The talent in Nussmeier was made evident in Orgeron mentioning Johnson’s banged-up shoulder — he should be good to go this week — and saying, “He knows Garrett is breathing right down the back of his neck, so he’s a competitor. He knows he can’t blink.”
But the piece LSU fans are most excited about is the five-star quarterback commit Walker Howard. Not just is he an elite prospect, but he’s a Louisiana product. In a state that’s struggled to develop quarterbacks not named Manning, Howard is the highest-rated Louisiana passer in 17 years.
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The goal now is for LSU to actually secure Howard’s signing in December. Whenever there is a coaching change, one has to worry about a player of that caliber. Still, many in the recruiting world believe Howard remains an LSU lean. A major hire by LSU athletic director Scott Woodward could make any concerns go away.
All of this is to say LSU’s quarterback situation should be in good hands. If Howard comes to LSU, it will be the best-looking room most LSU fans can ever remember.
The downside, though, is not having Brennan in 2022. AlthoughJohnson has been solid, some watching this season came away more confident Brennan would have been the best quarterback available next season. He obviously comes with his own concerns, but he might have been a great option for a first-year coach. On the other hand, the new coach might want to make sure he’s aligning himself with one of the young stars. There’s history of these things going both ways.
Brennan is gone, though, and now the room falls to Johnson, Nussmeier and potentially Howard. The next LSU coach will inherit an exciting situation at quarterback. That’s why it’s so important to get it right.
(Top photo (L-R) of Garrett Nussmeier, Myles Brennan and Max Johnson: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
