Maybe Etling can give Harris run for his money

Published 10:54 am Wednesday, March 2, 2016

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">With LSU set to open spring football practice on Monday, it seems, so far, that the Tigers are basing whatever offensive improvement may come along mostly on Brandon Harris getting better at quarterback.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">And it could happen.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">It would be next to impossible not to have at least a little progress.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But what of other options?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Given the sad state of the Tigers’ air attack a year ago, shouldn’t there be more talk about alternatives at the elusive position?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">After all, LSU did get a transfer at the position last year in Danny Etling, a former starter at Purdue who’s been practicing with the Tigers for a year but ineligible due to transfer rules.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">You’d think LSU could get excited about any new face.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Last summer Les Miles called him a “big, tall, 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, tough kid, runs pretty well, makes good decisions and throws pretty well.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He also said at the time Etling would “push the competition,” for whatever that’s worth.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">When he stepped foot on campus, Etling lost the traditional arrival inch (he’s 6-3) but steps up at 224.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">LSU fans think tall, strong-armed quarterback, and immediately conjure up Zach Mettenberger, the only real bright spot in the position since …</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Well, Miles compares Etling more to Matt Flynn, the 2007 national championship quarterback, which would certainly be a big upgrade. At least, that’s what Miles said last summer after Etling arrived in Baton Rouge.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Who is he? And why is he at LSU?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Etling, it seems, might be the rare college player who escaped his previous address and fled for LSU in search of a more stable quarterback situation.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">I know, sounds crazy. It defies considerable logic.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But Etling sounds legit. He would appear to be a threat to most quarterback competitions, let alone at LSU where the grading curve is set pretty low.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Recruiting geeks will rejoice that he was a four-star recruit from South Vigo High School in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 9-rated pro style quarterback in the country when he packed for Purdue.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">And he even won the Boilermakers’ starting quarterback job midway through his freshman season.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Even keeping in mind that Purdue has been the worst team in the Big Ten for several years now, that’s pretty impressive.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">So why’s he at LSU?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He apparently had a friendship with LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who also grew up in Terre Hautte.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Etling had some moments as a freshman in 2013, though notably without ever getting around to winning a game he started. The Boilermakers went 0-7 after he wrangled away the starting job.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">That’s not as incriminating as it sounds. Nobody has won much at Purdue lately.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But Etling did OK. He finished the season 149 of 267 for 1,690 yards and 10 touchdowns. Going 14 of 25 for 160 yards against Michigan State doesn’t sound bad, particularly with the suspect supporting cast he had.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Yet after starting 2-3 the next season — directional wins over Western Michigan and Southern Illinois — Etling promptly lost the starting job to an Austin Appleby. At the end of the season, he started making eyes at LSU, which can always use a spare quarterback, and welcomed him aboard.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Sidenote: Appleby, in turn, lost the Purdue starting job in midseason last year, and, following a familiar pattern, has since transferred to Florida, where he’s eligible immediately as a graduate student.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">So playing quarterback at Purdue these days sounds sort of like going through the dreaded “drop linebacker” experiment during Lou Tepper’s late 1990s days of hamstringing the LSU defense.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">It remains to be seen if Etling is a legitimate threat to Harris.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But this competition, if it is one, will warrant watching, although that’s pretty tough at LSU.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Even the Tigers’ spring practices are conducted with secrecy normally reserved for Cold War hijinks.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The only disclaimer I would throw out would be the lack of any tall tales from a year ago while Etling was redshirting.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He was, after all, practicing all season.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Normally when a player can’t legally help LSU during a game at the moment, the practice field legend grows.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Just wait until you see this guy …</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">You didn’t hear any of that.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But that doesn’t mean Etling can’t push Harris.</span>

<span class="R~sep~AZaphdingbatdot7pt">l</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold;" class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">Scooter Hobbs</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">covers LSU</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">athletics. Email him at</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyEditors~sep~endnote">shobbs@americanpress.com</span>