LSU Tigers’ quarterbacks Anthony Jennings, Brandon Harris out to silence critics

LSU Tigers quarterbacks Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris acknowledge they were a detriment last year, but are ready to prove the doubters wrong.


The LSU Tigers have a Heisman Trophy winner in running back Leonard Fournette, dynamic young receivers and three returning starters on the offensive line , but the biggest question facing the team in spring is the same as last year.

Can the Tigers get quality play from the quarterback position?

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That’s a question that has been asked around Baton Rouge for years and the results have typically been the same with a few exceptions along the way, but this is traditionally a team built around a dominant defense and run game.

Should we expect the 2015 season to be any different?

Rising junior Anthony Jennings and rising sophomore Brandon Harris failed to make much of an impression last year and the two acknowledged they have to be better if LSU is to get back to the SEC Championship Game and compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

“I would call us one of the weak points of this past year”

Anything less is a disappointment in Death Valley after Jennings completed less than 50 percent of his passes and Harris was overwhelmed in his lone start against Auburn as a true freshman. Jennings took the brunt of the criticism for a season that didn’t meet expectations as LSU went 8-5, the first time they didn’t win double-digit games since 2009 and matches the worst record for Les Miles in his LSU tenure.

He’s not shying away from the criticism.

“[The criticism is] definitely reasonable,” Jennings said, via espn.com. “You look at the guys that were in the national championship. Those guys were elite quarterbacks. That’s what we have to have.”

Harris echoed what his competition for the job said and admits quarterback play held the team back last year.

“I would call us one of the weak points of this past year,” Harris said. “I think we have quarterbacks this year in place, and I’m looking forward to using that as a challenge to show people this coming season.”

Jennings and Harris will continue to share reps throughout the spring and into the summer in all likelihood to see who comes out on top to start the season opener, but whoever it is has the tools to be elite.

The offense runs through Fournette who turned in a 1,000-yard season as a freshman. The former No. 1 overall recruit started slow but finished strong with a pair of 140-yard outings to close the season and begin the hype machine for a sophomore season that will full of Heisman talk.

He loses La’el Collins at left tackle but three starters return to the offensive line that should be strong once again and open holes up for the run game and give time for the quarterbacks.

Malachi Dupre was the other five-star freshman for LSU last season and the 6-3 wide receiver should blossom into one of the top targets in the SEC this year and be the next great Tiger receiver. Trey Quinn should be a popular target our of the slot and man the short and intermediate routes with incoming five-star freshman Tyron Johnson vying for early playing time.

Jennings and Harris had reasonable excuses last year that they were pressed into duty before they were ready and didn’t have established receivers after the departures of Odell Beckham Jr and Jarvis Landry, but Jennings acknowledges he’s motivated to silence his critics.

“I’ve been listening to this stuff since the last game of the season, during the season. It’s fueling my fire,” Jennings said. “It’s definitely valuable. … We lost five games. That’s not good enough. Losing one game is not good enough here. So those losses, they fuel me to get better each and every day here.”

He should have a lot of fuel to drive him this spring and earn the starting job and be the answer that LSU needs to fulfill their lofty expectations.

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