LSU Football 2011: Recapping the Spring Game and Assessing the Quarterbacks

The LSU Spring Football Game has come and gone, and Tiger fans that had the opportunity to watch the practice game should be very excited about what they saw.

Overall, the Tigers looked great in the structured spring game, where key players were wearing green jerseys that prevented them from getting hit.

The biggest position battle was at quarterback, where Jordan Jefferson went into the game with a clear lead for the starter roll, with Jarrett Lee and Zach Mettenberger fighting for the backup role.

On his first series, Jefferson led the first-team offense on a scoring drive against the second team defense, displaying nice touch on deep balls and precision on all of his other passes. 

Though the drive was successful in large part due to the running of Spencer Ware, Jefferson did look calm and collected while running the offense. He led the team like the leader head coach Les Miles, as Tiger fans hoped he would.

However, Jefferson would struggle for the remainder of the game, looking like the player we saw for most of 2010. The same issues that caused him to struggle in 2010 remained.

Jefferson has a tendency of sitting in the pocket too long before deciding to scramble, making the job of the offensive line difficult and wasting opportunities to pick up yards with his feet.

On many occasions, Jefferson sat in the pocket for over five seconds before being sacked, having the ball stripped, or gaining minimal yards by scrambling too late.

Quicker decision making when wide receivers are covered would allow Jefferson to use his speed to do serious damage to defenses.

Another issue that Jefferson had in 2010 that came back in the spring game is his habit of staring down receivers and making ill-advised passes into coverage.

On his only interception of the spring game, Jefferson locked onto Rueben Randle with his eyes from the snap and was subsequently picked off by Ronnie Vinson.

Lee started the game with the second-team offense, stalling on his first drive and throwing a critical interception on the three yard line as the team was driving to score on his second drive.

Lee did not exude the confidence one would expect from a fifth year senior, but rather looked rattled and nervous. Just like he did for much of the 2007 campaign, in which his performance was disastrous.

Though he did look better later in the game, and Miles did choose him to take the reins of the first-team offense with two minutes left in the game, Lee’s performance probably eliminated him from competition for the starting role and earned him the third-string spot.

Mettenberger had by far the best performance of the quarterbacks in the spring game. He went 5-of-8 for 86 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second half, the only points allowed by the Tiger’s first-team defense.

Mettenberger looked sharp, throwing his passes with zip and accuracy.

In addition to the 60-yard touchdown pass, Mettenberger threw a beautiful 47-yard pass to Kadron Boone that might have been a touchdown had Boone gone up more aggressively to get the pass.

The pass was batted down by sophomore cornerback Tharold Simon who played a fantastic game, batting down two deep balls to save touchdowns.

One of Mettenberger’s best plays of the game came on a 3rd-and-9, in which he scrambled for the first down, sustaining the drive.

As a whole, Mettenberger’s performance in the spring game was excellent.

He looked comfortable with the offense, seemed to have the respect and support of his teammates, making great decisions and accurate passes.

Whether or not his performance was good enough to surpass Jefferson as the starter is yet to be seen, but he certainly earned his spot as the No. 2 quarterback for the Tigers.