MAX JOHNSON QB1: HOW LSU'S STARTER CAN TAKE THE TIGERS TO THE TOP

A COLLEGE FOOTBALL TRAILBLAZER & ETERNAL CHAMPION

by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

@LonnPhillips

He scans the field around him, not really staring at any one person or any one thing....instead, he's looking through the void....immersed in the here, the now, one play at a time, one drive at a time, one game at a time.....everything his father taught him...everything he's seen on the field & in the film room...it all comes flooding back.....but somewhere in his defiant, intensified gaze, I can see it in this Tiger's cold blooded eyes:

Don't compare him to anyone else...he is his own man.

He is....

QB1: MAXIMUS JOHNSON...and yes...we are entertained.

Max Johnson is LSU's undisputed starting QB as Coach Orgeron's Tigers grind through Fall Camp, though it took super junior QB Myles Brennan's horrific humerus injury to force the sudden default announcement.

Most fans were led to believe we should be expecting an epic QB competition through August, and sure, many are understandably scared by the Tigers' newfound lack of depth over center, but I don't believe there was ever going to be a real competition for the job....the job was set up for Max since December 2020.

Whether Brennan had been healthy or not, Max would've won LSU's starting job, and after only a few days of Fall Camp, we are all starting to see why.

First of all....everyone on that team has been looking toward and operating around Max like this for months now....in fact, half or most of the team hopped on Johnson's wavelength last December, overcoming unbelievable odds to topple #6 Florida and Ole Miss.

Off the field, there is a synergy, a unity....a vibe among the squad which started from Max's dedicated volunteer workouts with LSU's receivers. First, he was a chip-on-the-shoulder freshman....mostly silent and stoic, but wasn't afraid to be vocal; Now a second year Tiger, he may not say much, he's still a little shy to the media.....however, let me assure you: when he's talking to his teammates, his fellow Tigers are listening.

With Max behind / under center, this offense is going to move the ball up and down the field thanks to Offensive Coordinator Jake Peetz deploying a quick striking attack.

The passing game will dink and dunk all over the field, Max taking the snap, dropping back, and getting rid of the ball in less than 4 seconds, hitting any number of receiving playmakers in stride.

There are some Yards After Catch machines on LSU's roster....and Max has a strong quarterbacking profile to compliment their ascension:

Geaux back and watch the LSU starter's film vs Ole Miss or Florida....now, take those plays, inject those sets or formations with steroids from Jose Canseco's secret stash, down some jet fuel, add a ridiculous amount of skill position weapons, an aggressive play-calling mentality under a strong coordinator, plus Max's improved arm strength & ability to read coverages, and now you have yourselves the brilliant 2021 offense....at least on paper!

Peetz's playbook will be making unbelievable use of the short passing game, which we didn't see enough of during the first 3 outings of 2020 under Myles Brennan. Too many long developing routes behind a porous offensive line equals trouble...& Brennan found that out in the most unforgiving manner possible.

Now that health is a priority more than ever before, our offensive line must protect Max as if their lives depended on it...but why not help Coach Brad Davis and his line polish their chemistry without the atrocity of every-down pressure???

The short passing game does just that, affording Max a quick RPO fake to the running back, quick passing options on both sides and a deeper wild card route from the slot, all anchored by at least three escape outlets, either the running back, tight end or his legs.

Everyone is a threat on every single play....

I believe LSU have the precise personnel for Peetz's West Coast-based spread philosophy:

Sporting a roster full of speedy, athletic receivers....starting with the man who broke the all-time SEC single-game receiving record alongside Max, Sir Kayshon Boutte, then we move to freshman track freak Chris Hilton Jr, blazing senior Jontre Kirklin, the man who snapped a decades long "kickoff return for a TD" drought at Death Valley Mr. Trey Palmer, fast & versatile Koy Moore, and dynamic debutant Deion Smith, nevermind Derek Stingley Jr being used as an option; it is abundantly apparent to anyone that LSU possess a deep army of burners....and we're not even including YAC machines such as Jack Bech, Malik Nabers or Brian Thomas Jr!

Max Johnson will have no shortage of weapons, still, the question will linger:

Can Jake Peetz's offense maximize its unstoppable potential under #14, a quarterback about to start only his third collegiate game?

You can call it the "Joe Brady 2019 offense" however much you like (although dismissing Steve Ensminger, the man who called 80% of the plays, is ridiculous), but just as Led Zeppelin's "song remained the same", so does this inherent truth:

The basis for the Tigers' G.O.A.T strategy was rooted in Bill Wash and Don Coryell's "West Coast offense": quick, bulleted passes drilled toward receiving playmakers (guys with plenty of yards after catch power...almost like running backs after the catch).

Most of the time this offensive philosophy is used to cover up a sloppy or non-existent running game (i.e New England Patriots), but for truly high octane teams, a reliance on intermediary passing can set up the run in an array of devastating ways.

Sporting a top duo of ready starters at running back, Ty Davis-Price & John Emery Jr, tough while talented walk-on Josh Williams (who wears my number!), as well as a pair of wunderkind freshmen Corey Kiner & Armoni Goodwin, every Tigers' back boasts a different profile and possesses intriguing strengths.

If deployed in a proper rotation, spearheaded by a #1 guy, LSU should be able to run the football due to the versatility of their attack wearing down the opponent.

What made the Ensminger / Brady playbook so dynamic was the blending of these West Coast virtues with Joe Moorhead's Penn State RPO game (a major contribution from Joe Brady), supplemented by devastating choice routes and bunch formation brutality...alongside a few Sean Peyton tributes sprinkled in.

Behind Myles Brennan, that ultimate type of dual threat offensive level just isn't possible.....which is fine, but we knew a standard pocket passing QB wasn't the direction that would get the most out of this squad.

As we learned last season, Max Johnson is that guy....now is that time......from right now until the trip out to Los Angeles, where Coach O's Tigers face UCLA in the Rose Bowl, Fall Camp is just about putting Max Johnson in the best position to lead the team and win championships at LSU.

The first step in completing this mission?

DEDICATED TO:

by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

@LonnPhillips

Copyright 2021 Uninterrupted Writings Inc

SHOUTOUTS: LET'S GEAUX MAX!!!!! We believe in you!!!!