LSU quarterback Myles Brennan suffers arm injury requiring surgery

LSU quarterback Myles Brennan suffered an arm injury and is out indefinitely, according to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports. “His timeline is yet to be determined,” coach Ed Orgeron said. “Myles has done everything we have asked of him this summer and was in the fight to be the starting QB.”

Per the Athletic’s Brody Miller, Brennan has a broken humerus bone and will require surgery. As a red shirt junior, Brennan was currently competing for a starting role on LSU this year. The position will now likely be filled by sophomore Max Johnson, as the Tigers look to open the season against UCLA in their first game.

Myles Brennan’s impact

The news of this injury is extremely rough considering Brennan was just returning from a season-ending injury last year. Brennan had earned the starting job in 2020 and was filling in great for his predecessor: Heisman-winning quarterback Joe Burrow. Through just three games, he racked up 1,112 yards and 11 touchdowns. His passer rating as a starter was an incredible 154.7.

During the third game of the season against Missouri, Brennan suffered an injury that was reported as a torn abdomen. The injury was unique enough that doctors told him at the time they had never performed the surgery he would need before.

“He said I’ve never done the surgery on this, so we’d be naming the surgery after you,” LSU quarterback Myles Brennan said in a Mar. 18 press conference via LSU’s YouTube channel.

Faced with the option to have this surgery or to heal naturally, Brennan opted not to have the surgery.

With the Tigers ready to start their fall training camp on Aug. 5, there was a serious competition for the starting quarterback job at LSU. Brennan had shown his talents in 2020 and was prepared to earn the job back. He stated he felt a return to normal by the end of the 2020 season and felt great going into this year.

Max Johnson to start

This year, he has battled Max Johnson for his starting role and LSU head coach Ed Orgeron hadn’t named their pick to open the season prior to Brennan’s injury. When he went down in 2020, the Tigers picked quarterback TJ Finley to replace him. Through the first eight games, LSU had a record of 3-5 and was set to have their first losing season since 1999. Coach Orgeron went with Johnson instead to close the season, and he put up eight total touchdowns and a 2-0 finish to their season against Florida and Ole Miss.

The outcome of the position battle wasn’t decided on the field unfortunately, but Orgeron is high on Johnson’s abilities.

“Myles Brennan and Max Johnson are two championship quarterbacks. Whoever wins is going to do a great job at LSU. It’s going to be a tremendous battle, and we’ll see what happens,” Ed Orgeron said going into this year.

While they never got to see what happened in camp, LSU is ready to open the season against UCLA with Johnson.