Editor’s note: this feature on Josh Booty and LSU quarterbacks is by guest contributor Crissy Froyd
Over the years, LSU has produced some incredible athletes who have achieved exceptional NFL careers.
However, there’s one particular position the Tigers have always struggled with- quarterback. After all, it’s been 43 years since Bert Jones, the last LSU QB to truly have a successful career in the NFL, was drafted into the league in 1973.
To find out exactly why this is, I went one-on-one with former LSU and NFL quarterback Josh Booty.
Taken in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks, Booty spent the majority of his career with the Cleveland Browns, followed by a short stay with the Oakland Raiders in 2007. Unlike many modern quarterbacks, Booty actually played two sports before entering the NFL, and put most of his focus on Major League Baseball, where he was a third baseman for the Florida Marlins.
He believes that taking on both sports at the same time may have contributed to some of the issues that he had in the NFL, but multitasking was not a valid excuse for his underperformance.
According to Booty, the problem, which can best be described as a sort of domino effect, begins as soon as a QB recruit enters the LSU system:
“In the history of LSU, they haven’t really prepared quarterbacks. It’s a power run game team, the emphasis has never been on bringing quarterbacks to the next level”, the former QB explained.
Booty claimed that since Jimbo Fisher, the Tigers have not had a coach who has really showed interest in improving quarterbacks. Fisher recently turned down the Tigers’ offer to bring him back to the coaching staff.
Booty went on to say that the quarterback position is unique, and it’s one where you absolutely must be developed during your college career in order to stand a chance of succeeding in the NFL, which he referred to as “ten times harder than the SEC.”
“A running back can come straight into the NFL and do well as a rookie. On the quarterback side, it’s completely different. You have to have a special type of preparedness and experience, and LSU can’t give that to their quarterbacks.”
The most recent pair of quarterbacks to go under center for LSU, Brandon Harris and Danny Etling, clearly reflect this notion that LSU has not given enough attention to the position. When asked about his thoughts on Brandon Harris, the Tigers’ starter going into this season, Booty said he was an excellent athlete with fatal flaws.
“I think (his) lack of accuracy and lack of passing game destroys him as a quarterback. He is athletic, very athletic, but too inaccurate. You can’t succeed as a quarterback without accuracy. He also couldn’t read out a defense when he needed to. Without that, it doesn’t matter how athletic you are.”
Booty doesn’t believe that Harris is the only one to blame for his struggles that ultimately cost him the starting job.
“He could’ve done better if the culture was based more around passing…he had no opportunity to grow.”
As for Etling, the team’s current starter, Booty said that he viewed the young QB as an “overachiever,” who “gets more out of his abilities.”
Even so, he insisted that with LSU’s lack of focus on the QB position, opposing teams did not view Etling – or any LSU QB – as a threat: “When people play LSU, they think about stopping the power run game. That’s it.”
He also expressed that LSU’s inability to show any attention to the QB position goes on to hurt them in the draft. In the past, the few Tiger quarterbacks that produce well enough to be drafted are drafted low, and given little to no chance at being taken seriously as a candidate for the starting position in the long-term. This occurred most recently with former LSU QB Zach Mettenberger -also drafted in the sixth round- and affected Booty’s career as well.
He referred to the NFL as a “business,” and explained that a quarterback drafted higher with more money invested in him was going to get the job, zero questions asked.
“I played behind Tim Couch. Tim got drafted first, he was gonna play. I had “no opportunity,” he said of his two year stint with the Browns.
LSU’s obsession with the run game doesn’t hinder only quarterbacks, it carries over to other positions. It seems there is a lot of hidden talent on LSU football teams that simply never get discovered because the passing game is so neglected.
“We have such amazing players on the receiving level, but they never get the ball. It’s just the culture… It’s the way it’s always been,” Booty stated.
Taking a closer look at LSU, the team’s star running backs truly are the heart and soul of their offense. The Tigers have shown over time that when players such as Leonard Fournette are healthy, the team does well, but when their focal point running back is missing, it typically results in a loss.
Many would agree that the 2016 LSU football team didn’t produced as well as initially expected. Likewise with several recent teams. It’s not because the talent isn’t there, as LSU has consistently been one of the most successful programs in recruiting for quite some time.
“We have the athletes, we’re top 5 recruiting every year,” Booty said.
Perhaps with more balance and a better focus put on all offensive positions, instead of just the running backs, LSU could get more out of their recruits each season.
Booty believes LSU is now starting to move in the right direction with coaching changes, including the recent firing of head coach Les Miles and hiring of USC’s Ed Orgeron.
“It was 100 percent time for (Les Miles) to go. When it came to clock management and lack of balance on offense, it really hurt him.”
He also explained his belief that Miles hyped up rivalries to the point that the Tigers played these contest with much more fight than against smaller teams, who they sometimes “played down on,” simply because they were not arch-rivals.
So what exactly does LSU do from here to solve the issue of imbalance that has plagued them for so many decades?
For Booty, the answer is quite simple.
“We need an offensive minded head coach with a good defensive coordinator. That’s the recipe for success for LSU – it always has been.”
Maybe hiring Offensive Coordinator Lane Kiffin is the answer? According to reports, Kiffin is interviewing for the Houston Head Coaching job tomorrow. Should he be passed over for the gig, Kiffin would become the next LSU O.C. Reports claims LSU are prepared to make him the highest paid assistant in college football.