I called Danny Etling (version 2016) the savior of LSU football. When that wasn’t exactly true, I called Danny Etling (version 2017) the savior of LSU football. More recently, I called Myles Brennan the savior. 

Fixing LSU football probably goes deeper than finding a competent quarterback, but an elite player at that position sure could smooth over the cracks in the pavement. The fan base yearns for it.  

With the recent addition of Ohio State transfer quarterback Joe Burrow, it is my privilege to anoint Mr. Burrow as the new savior of LSU football. This one is for real, I promise. Sorry, Myles.

After a spring where no LSU quarterback did much to claim the starting gig in 2018 as their own, the staff went out and lured Burrow to Death Valley. Burrow—once a four-star dual-threat quarterback prospect—completed 74 percent of his 39 total pass attempts for 287 yards and a couple of scores in three years at Ohio State.

For the past two seasons, Burrow has been darling of the Buckeyes’ spring game and that’s where we’ll take our cues from when looking at the type of player he could be for the Tigers. The 2018 spring game from a few months ago is the last film we have of the quarterback and he was impressive yet again.

He’s very adept at moving around in the pocket and getting through his reads. He doesn’t seem afraid to live in the pocket with the bullets flying around him. 

On this play, after the play-fake, he checks the positioning of the safety. The safety stays weak-side, so he checks on the strong-side fade route before opting for the crossing route from the backside. 

I like this throw to the end zone with inside pressure coming at him. While, Burrow’s not live in the pocket, the pass rush is still live and he understands that his center is shading the defensive tackle just enough that he doesn’t have to move off his line and can throw the ball in rhythm. A lot of quarterbacks are going to get nervous, move to the right and then be late on the fade route in the end zone.

I also dig his accuracy. Ohio State runs a lot of mesh concepts to free up receivers against man coverage and Burrow threw the ball accurately on those throws. 

Overall, his throwing mechanics are pretty clean. He has a nice wide base, so his front leg isn’t allowed to overstride. This starts this throwing process in a quick and efficient manner and gets his elbow up and through during his throw.

Going from Ohio State to LSU, Burrow won’t see a drop-off in the athletic ability of his receivers and backs. However, LSU doesn’t return a lot of experience at those spots. They return under 30 total catches between the receivers, but do get back tight end Foster Moreau—and will get transfer Jonathan Giles who sat out last season.

There may not be experience, but there’s plenty of talent.

The LSU PR department will say all the right things and tell you that Burrow will come in and compete like the other quarterbacks on the roster, but he’s going to be the guy. He’s already a better passer than Brennan and can bring a running element like Lowell Narcisse and Justin McMillan can. 

If he can digest offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger’s system quickly, there’s no one in his way. Burrow will be as good as we’ve seen behind center for LSU since… potentially ever.

If the Tigers hope to return to the top of college football, they’ll need the full realization of potential in the year of their lord and savior Joe Burrow, 2018.