The LSU Tigers announced Thursday that backup quarterback Anthony Jennings will transfer from the program.
Jennings was the team's 2014 starter but was supplanted last year by Brandon Harris. He will remain with the school until he graduates this summer, though will transfer to another football program to finish his college career, per LSU's release.
Graduating from LSU would make him eligible to be a graduate transfer, and he could play immediately this fall with whatever new school he signs with.
“This is an opportunity for Anthony to put himself in a position to help another team have success,” LSU head coach Les Miles said in a statement. "We wish him nothing but good fortune in the future and we appreciate all that he did while he was part of our program.”
LSU is now down to three scholarship quarterbacks—Harris, Danny Etling and Justin McMillan. Lindsey Scott, a 3-star dual threat-quarterback, will arrive this June.
If he's granted a graduate-transfer waiver, Jennings will become the latest to use the NCAA exception—one largely utilized by other upperclassmen quarterbacks who have lost their starting jobs and are seeking new opportunities.
Russell Wilson is the most prominent example, having left NC State for Wisconsin in 2011 after Sean Glennon was promoted to starting quarterback.
Georgia’s Greyson Lambert (transferred from Virginia) and Florida State’s Everett Golson (transferred from Notre Dame) are other examples of quarterbacks who have found new starting gigs after leaving Division I schools. Both were No. 1 on the depth chart by the start of last season.
Jennings’ next stop isn’t clear, but he should draw interest from, at the very least, some of the lower-tier Power Five schools.
He went 9-4 with 1,792 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions over two years as a starter, adding another 310 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Those numbers are respectable, but what might be concerning is LSU didn’t have faith in Jennings to keep him the starter in 2015.
They instead turned to Harris, who anchored the SEC’s third-worst passing offense in what was the Tigers’ Achilles' heel late in the season.
Jennings would fit nicely in another system that affords him a strong run game to complement his dual-threat ability. He’s not the strongest passer, but he could thrive with other talented pieces around him.
You know what that means. Cane Lock.
