Quarterbacks draw attention.
Opposing teams lock in on signal callers week-to-week, and the fans and media are quick with an opinion on the most visible player on the field.
Saturday night in Oxford, it was easy to see the brilliance of Ole Miss’s Trinidad Chambliss. Though, LSU’s Sam Leavitt made some plays, he also missed some throws.
He fired wide of Zach Grace on the goalline on LSU’s second to last play, the third errant throw that could have resulted in a touchdown.
“That seems easy. Just throw the ball to the open guy for a touchdown,” said LSU head coach Lane Kiffin. “But when you get impacted early in the game by rush…you know, and you can’t step up, and you’re getting beat inside, and a guy’s open, and you can’t step up and throw in rhythm, it affects you.”
Ole Miss pressured Leavitt early and often in Oxford, with Pro Football Focus crediting the Rebels’ defense with 23 hurries. They got to him five times for sacks with a relentless pass rush that the Tiger offensive line struggled to slow down.
“Confidence is fragile at every position, but especially at quarterback because it’s the one position you’ve got to do your job with potentially getting hit from all over,” Kiffin said.
Other than the sacks, Leavitt avoided serious contact in the backfield. He does that with his elite athleticism and quickness.
The Tiger signal caller ran the ball 17 times for 63 yards and his sixth rushing score in three games. Perhaps his best rushing effort was the 4th and 4 rush for 13 yards that extended LSU’s final drive to give the team the chance to knot the score.
Plays like that have been essential to the Tiger offense through three weeks. Leavitt ran for 113 yards against Clemson and three scores against Louisiana Tech. Whether born out of confidence or necessity, Leavitt’s legs will have to be a key for LSU.
A more fluid passing game needs to show up, too, though.
“When you have success, a lot of the plays he was having success was taking off on his own and doing things,” Kiffin said. “So, it’s hard to stay in there when that’s how the game was going. But he knows we’ve got to do a better job, even in those situations, and deliver the ball on time and not try too much.”
Leavitt ranks 14th in the SEC in completion percentage through three weeks. He’s the only starting quarterback in the SEC to throw more interceptions (5) than touchdowns (3).
Inaccurate throws like the one to Grace and tipped passes like his final attempt into the endzone to Roman Mothershed have plagued LSU.
It’s early in the season, but the loss to Ole Miss narrows LSU’s margin for error. Improvement must come quickly for a quarterback who missed all of spring football and an offensive line struggling in pass protection.
“I think we’ve got to do a better job in our passing game of being consistent with more completions,” Kiffin said. “We have a lot of incompletions, a lot of dead plays where you’re not getting anything. You’re not making the defense run sideline to sideline when you’re not completing the ball.”
