The more LSU QBs change, the more things stay the same
Joe Burrow isn't the first player to arrive in Baton Rouge with the task of dragging LSU out of quarterback purgatory, and given the program's track record, it's unlikely he'll be the last.
That's no slight against Burrow, who announced his transfer to the Tigers from Ohio State on Friday. It's just that by chasing him, LSU showed once again it really has no plan when it comes to the most important position in football.
Two years ago, the Tigers pulled out all the recruiting stops to sign decorated high school pocket passer Myles Brennan. It took just one year for head coach Ed Orgeron's faith in him to apparently fizzle.
All along, it seemed the Tigers were grooming Brennan to take over as the starter in 2018. Orgeron inserted him into several games last year - sometimes when he probably shouldn't have - to get him some on-the-job training, abandoning Danny Etling, the kind of steady presence he supposedly yearned for at the beginning of the season.
Evidently, Orgeron wasn't impressed with what he saw from Brennan throughout the spring because he pounced on the opportunity to land Burrow - a guy with 39 career passes who left the Buckeyes upon realizing he wouldn't beat out the less experienced Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell for the starting job.
Before Brennan and Etling, there was Lindsey Scott. Before Scott, there was Brandon Harris. Before Harris, there was Anthony Jennings. Before Jennings, there was Hayden Rettig. Before Rettig - well, you get the point. The list is very long, and that part of it only takes us back to the 2013 signing class.
Burrow's transfer might provide LSU fans with initial optimism, but the move makes the Tigers look desperate, not savvy. To get the most out of Burrow's dual-threat talents, LSU will need to stray from the simplistic, power-running offense it's been stubbornly loyal to for years.
The late acquisition reeks of the same desperation Florida exuded a year ago when it went after Malik Zaire from Notre Dame. He, too, appeared to be a misfit in his new team's system. Ask Jim McElwain how that panned out.
A graduate transfer and redshirt junior, Burrow will be eligible to play immediately, and for the next two years. That sounds great in the summer, but unless LSU figures out what it wants from a starting quarterback and how to develop one, Burrow is likely to serve as another temporary stopgap.