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Miles won't commit to permanent QB change after yanking Harris

Shanna Lockwood / USA TODAY Sports

Les Miles finally pulled the plug on Brandon Harris in LSU's win over Jacksonville State on Saturday, but the coach isn't prepared to declare a new starter just yet.

"We're trying to get Brandon comfortable and settled down, but I don't know if that will happen," Miles told reporters after the 34-13 win, according to Ron Higgins of NOLA.com. "It depends how this quarterback competition plays out."

With his offense sputtering yet again, Miles made the long-awaited call to bench Harris, inserting Danny Etling during the second quarter against the Gamecocks. The move paid immediate dividends, as Etling led the Tigers to a touchdown on his first drive, and then two more later on.

Miles acknowledged after the contest that Etling will "absolutely" compete for the starting job this week, but he stopped short of calling anything else in Baton Rouge absolute.

"He was not perfect by any means," Miles said of the Purdue transfer. "As I recall, he's 6-for-14, which is not what we want, and we had some guys wide open, certainly, but that was his first start - his first playing time I should say - and certainly performed well, to a point."

Etling finished his Tigers debut with 100 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Half of his completions came during his first drive.

Harris, meanwhile, was pulled after four throws. He completed one of them for eight yards.

LSU has a week to sleep on the quarterback situation before opening up conference play versus Mississippi State on Saturday.

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