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LSU holds off on naming a QB
CommentsBATON ROUGE, La. — All signs point to Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch starting LSU’s season opener on Saturday against Appalachian State, but head coach Les Miles is not ready to commit to that yet.
“Our quarterbacks — I have great confidence in all three of them, to be honest with you, and I can’t tell you today who’ll take the field first,” Miles said Monday. “I can tell you I’ll be comfortable with whoever that is.”
Hatch, technically entering his second sophomore season after getting medical redshirt for a shoulder injury last year, is the most experienced quarterback on LSU’s roster — and he’s only thrown two passes for the Tigers.
His lone appearance came in mop-up duty for LSU during a blowout of Middle Tennessee early last season.
Neither of LSU’s other two quarterbacks, redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee and true freshman Jordan Jefferson, has taken a snap in a game.
Miles and offensive coordinator Gary Crowton like what they’ve seen from Jefferson, who has quick feet, throws hard, and seems to have the best all-around athleticism of the three quarterbacks. However, he is not only untested, but also has been practicing with LSU for only a few weeks.
Miles said Hatch and Lee are competing for the majority of snaps. They were with the Tigers during last season’s national championship campaign and shared all the snaps during spring practice.
However, Lee missed practice and LSU’s last preseason scrimmage last week because of back spasms, giving Hatch the inside track to the starting nod.
Miles said Lee’s back is fine now and that he would announce a starter later in the week.
Harvin, Spikes might miss No. 5 Florida’s opener. Fifth-ranked Florida may be without receiver Percy Harvin and middle linebacker Brandon Spikes for its Saturday opener against Hawaii.
Harvin, who is still battling a right heel injury that required offseason surgery, participated in portions of practice last Friday and Saturday, but the 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior has been unable to go full speed since the second day of fall practice on Aug. 5.
The speedy Harvin rushed for 764 yards and six touchdowns and caught a team-high 59 passes for 858 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Meyer announced on Monday that Spikes injured his right foot during practice last week.
Two Vols suspended for season opener at UCLA. Tennessee starting defensive back Brett Vinson and defensive tackle Donald Langley were suspended for the No. 18 Volunteers’ Monday opener at UCLA.
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said academic issues led to the suspensions. Vinson, a sophomore, started 10 games last season at left cornerback. Langley is a redshirt freshman.
No decision on Vanderbilt QB starter. Three days from its season opener, Vanderbilt still doesn’t know who its starting quarterback will be.
Coach Bobby Johnson said during his weekly news conference that a Monday night practice would weigh heavily on whether Chris Nickson or Mackenzi Adams starts Thursday at Miami (Ohio).
The job has been up for grabs throughout August training camp after neither Nickson nor Adams seized control of the job during the 2007 season. Johnson didn’t expect the position to still be unsettled during the week of season opener but isn’t surprised the competition lingers.
Nickson won the starting job a year ago, but his season unraveled mainly due to a separated shoulder that limited his passing effectiveness. Last October, Commodores coaches turned to Adams, who replaced Nickson in the lineup and started the final six games of the season.
Croom: LT Derek Sherrod to miss practice. Mississippi State left tackle Derek Sherrod will miss “a couple” of practices this week with a foot infection.
The sophomore is likely to play in Saturday’s season-opener at Louisiana Tech, coach Sylvester Croom said, but there’s a plan in case Sherrod is forced to sit out.
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