BATON ROUGE, La. — Brian Kelly will enter his first season at LSU with a new starting quarterback.
Now-former LSU starting quarterback Max Johnson tweeted on Tuesday evening that he is planning to enter the NCAA transfer portal. He has not yet announced where he intends to play in 2022 and beyond.
The sophomore quarterback completed just over 60% of his pass attempts with 27 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 starts this season. Johnson threw for just over 2,800 yards this season and has thrown for just under 4,000 yards in his two years with the Tigers.
Johnson's departure leaves LSU with just one scholarship quarterback on the roster, freshman Garrett Nussmeier. Nussmeier is currently in a redshirt season, meaning he can only play so many games this season. Nussmeier has already made two appearances, and given the current situation, he is clearly in line to start for the Tigers in the Texas Bowl, when they face off with Kansas State.
Translation: Nussmeier will be forced to burn his redshirt for this season.
Thankfully for the Tigers, they are slated to add some quarterback depth next season, as they currently hold a commitment from St. Thomas More (Lafayette) quarterback Walker Howard to join the program in the spring.