LSU quarterback battle settled after injury
Published 6:30 am Friday, August 6, 2021
- True freshman Garrett Nussmier (5) is the second team quarterback for LSU following an injury to senior Myles Brennan. Nussmeier will back up Max Johnson, who started two games in 2020.
BATON ROUGE — After a fall while getting onto a boat to go fishing in Grand Isle this past week, LSU senior quarterback Myles Brennan underwent surgery to repair a broken left arm, his father told news media.
Speaking on WWL radio’s SportsTalk with Kristian Garic, Bobby Hebert and Mike Detillier, Owen Brenna said his son was boarding a boat when his flip flop got caught on the dock and he fell. Because he was carrying fishing gear, Myles Brennan couldn’t brace himself and landed on his left arm, his father said.
Myles Brennan initially thought he had suffered a bruise, but doctors determined it was a compound fracture to the humerus bone.
“It was just an absolute freak accident,” Owen Brennan said. “He was not doing anything that he was not supposed to be doing.”
Brennan underwent surgery Tuesday.
“Surgery went really well,” Brennan posted to Twitter Tuesday. “Thank y’all for all the prayers. Gods got me.”
LSU coach Ed Orgeron said there is no timeline for Brennan’s return. Brennan had been in a battle with sophomore Max Johnson for the starting role this fall.
“Obviously Max is going to be our starter,” Orgeron told Off The Bench, a Baton Rouge radio show, on Tuesday. “He’s got to have a great camp. The depth chart is etched in sand. He knows he’s got to perform.
Last year each had their opportunities to start. Brennan started the first three games of the year, throwing for 11 touchdowns and 1,112 yards with 3 interceptions for a 154.7 QB rating. He suffered a season-ending abdominal injury in that third game, however.
Johnson, the son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, went 2-0, starting the final two games against Florida and Ole Miss and throwing for 1,069 yards and eight TDs with one interception over five total games. TJ Finley, who had started five games after Brennan’s injury and threw for 941 yards and five touchdowns with five interceptions, transferred to Auburn in the offseason.
“But I believe in Max just like I believe in Myles,” Orgeron said. “We’ve got us a great quarterback, a great championship quarterback.”
Freshman Garrett Nussmeier is the only other scholarship quarterback on the LSU roster. The Tigers open the season Sept. 4 at UCLA.
