http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/insider/news/story?id=2382374 In college football, when are too many quarterbacks on the same team a bad thing? Most coaches would tell you never. Well, at least almost never. But when it divides a team and players and fans start picking sides, it becomes a different story. The quarterback situation at LSU certainly will be worth watching in 2006. The Tigers have three talented players who could play for a lot of teams. More importantly, they have three talented players who all think they should be the starter when LSU opens its season Sept. 2 against Louisiana-Lafayette. JaMarcus Russell is the incumbent, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound physical specimen who made clutch throws in key games a year ago and then separated his shoulder in Georgia's 34-14 rout of LSU in the SEC championship game. Russell, a junior, was spectacular at times with his booming right arm. He also was inconsistent and tended to serve up easy interceptions for the defense when he felt pressure in the pocket. This spring has given head coach Les Miles a chance to see his offense without Russell, who had offseason surgery on his right wrist and also is recovering from the separation of his left (non-throwing) shoulder against the Bulldogs. Russell has made a few cameo appearances in practice but hasn't thrown any passes. The quarterback spotlight this spring has belonged to junior Matt Flynn and redshirt freshman Ryan Perrilloux. When last seen, Flynn was leading LSU to a 40-3 battering of Miami in the Peach Bowl while filling in for the injured Russell. Flynn, the game's offensive MVP, made one of the country's best and most talented defenses look helpless, and his performance only spiced up the quarterback talk this offseason. Flynn, who's better than Russell when it comes to scrambling and avoiding pressure, simply doesn't have much game experience. But he played well enough against the Hurricanes that one has to wonder how good he might be if he were given the reins to the LSU offense for an entire season. Flynn and Perrilloux have split time with the first-team offense this spring, and Flynn's efficiency has helped him maintain an edge. The usually tight-lipped Miles has been even more so about Perrilloux. Miles' stock assessment of Perrilloux this spring has been that he's coming along. Still, Perrilloux remains the most intriguing participant in the whole equation. He's as highly rated a quarterback as the Tigers have ever signed. When he chose LSU, he talked unabashedly about unseating Russell and Flynn and even broached the possibility of winning the Heisman Trophy. A year of not playing (and a muzzle from the LSU word police) has tempered some of that brashness. But LSU fans remain as eager as ever to see for themselves whether Perrilloux is the real thing. As a high school senior at East St. John in Reserve, La., he passed for 3,546 yards, rushed for 1,460 yards and accounted for 67 touchdowns. He was compared by some to Texas QB Vince Young and even committed to the Longhorns early in the recruiting process. Ultimately, though, Perrilloux said he couldn't see himself going to Texas and sitting on the bench and watching Young play for a couple of seasons. The obvious irony is that's exactly what he's going to be doing at LSU unless he makes a late push and unseats both Russell and Flynn. Young, meanwhile, is headed to the NFL. Perrilloux has all the physical attributes to be a great quarterback. But as highly acclaimed as he was coming out of high school, it's only natural to wonder if he would be content to sit around for another year, assuming he doesn't win the job. Then, Russell and Flynn both figure to be around for their senior seasons, too. There aren't many D.J. Shockleys anymore who are willing to wait their turn when it means trying to pack everything into one or two seasons. For Miles, it figures to be a delicate juggling act. He has a proven quarterback in Russell, who guided the Tigers to a Western Division title a year ago. He has a more versatile quarterback in Flynn, who guided the Tigers to their most impressive showing a year ago. And he has what was supposed to be the total package in Perrilloux, who's still waiting to show off his 4.5 speed and equally dangerous right arm. However it all shakes out, there should be some interesting story lines on the Bayou this fall. Too bad for Miles there's no such thing as a three-quarterback offense. Chris Low covers the SEC for The (Nashville) Tennessean.
We could start Russell in game 1, Flynn in game 2, Perrilloux in game 3 and so on. That way, every game, we'd have a fresh qb, while all gaining experience. what a trendsetting idea!
Wow, thats a lot of pressure on Miles. Especially since rumor has it that he promised Perrilloux (during the recruiting process) the starting job as a redshirt Freshman. With that and the pressure from the hometown fans, that's why he turned his back on Texas. Should be interesting. I still have his Army All American game on tape and he caught a TD pass from a running back in that game. He's talented, he's no VY but he's good in his own right. I hope he does unseat Russell and Flynn. Just because I want to see him play so much. Even though he dissed my team I want him to do well. Even though I think he made a mistake in school choices. But one thing is for sure, he needs to ease off the insults he so regularly dished out last year. Good to see Miles keeping a muzzel on it. Thanks for the article Up sizing
Bull$h*t. First of all, Ryan didn't want to redshirt at all. He was promised the opportunity to compete for the starting spot from the beginning, something Texas couldn't & wouldn't do. I think he'll be better than VY. He's faster, has a much better pass, a stronger arm, and I sure as hell hope he could do better than a 6 on the Wonderlic.
Mad? First off I said "Rumor has it". Second off if you have VY on your team you can't promise a highschool player a chance to compete. Especially since VY was a more highly ranked player coming out of highschool then RP anyways. I give Mack credit for being honest. I think Les would have said anything for RP to sign that LOI and he did. He gave RP false hope and then when he realized that there was no way that he'd unseat Russell and for that matter Flynn he had to redshirt him. Third He's definitely not faster then VY. But you know what? Speed isn't everything. Shiftiness matters. VY is legit 4.4 speed (despite what he ran at his pro day) but the speed isn't what makes him a great runner. He has moves on top of moves. Once he gets going, he won't be caught from behind. It takes him a few steps to get to his top speed. On the flip side, Reggie Mc Neal is legit 4.3 guy. But he has no wiggle, so he doesn't look that fast. And the rest, well I think it's foolish for you to think he has a better arm and is the better passer. VY set a NCAA mark for being the first to throw for 3000 yards and running for 1000 in the same season, those are RP's HIGHSCHOOL numbers for his senior year, but Young did it on the big stage that is TEXAS football in the Big XII and in the Championship game. I won't even adress the Wonderlic thing, as it has nothing to do with football.
