Quarterback Myles Brennan Is Returning To LSU; Tigers Add Offensive Lineman Transfer

BATON ROUGE - Sometimes with the NCAA transfer portal, players find that there is not a lot of interest in them. So, they come back to their previous school.

Such is the case with senior quarterback Myles Brennan, especially since LSU recently lost a quarterback to the transfer portal in starter Max Johnson, who will be transferring to Texas A&M. That leaves LSU with only true freshman quarterback Garrett Nussmeier on scholarship.

"I'm not leaving," Brennan posted on his Twitter account Thursday. Brennan, an LSU quarterback since 2017, had entered the transfer portal last November after missing all of the LSU season with a broken left arm suffered boarding a boat to go on a fishing trip in Grand Isle, Louisiana, just before August practices.

Brennan, who is right-handed, struggled to recover from the injury and is not expected to play in the third tier Texas Bowl on Jan. 4 in Houston between LSU (6-6) and Kansas State (7-5). Brennan is also likely not eligible academically to play as he left school last semester.

Nussmeier is also not expected to play because he would lose a year of eligibility as he has already played the maximum number of games (four) in 2021 allowed in a season to maintain the same class eligibility.

There was little interest in Brennan from schools other than Southern Mississippi. Brennan played at St. Stanislaus High in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He is part of the famous Brennan family dynasty of restaurants in New Orleans.

Brennan, who was LSU's starting quarterback for the first three games in 2020, was not expected to beat out Johnson entering the 2021 season partly because of his lack of mobility.

Brennan completed 79 of 131 passes for 1,112 yards and 11 touchdowns with three interceptions and was ranked No. 7 in the nation in passing efficiency after three starts in '20. But he suffered an abdominal tear after a collision at Missouri. He finished that game as the Tigers fell to 1-2 with a 48-41 upset loss, but he did not play again because of the injury.

TJ Finley started LSU's next five games before Johnson started the last two, leading LSU to wins over No. 6 Florida and Ole Miss and a 5-5 finish. Johnson opened spring as the starter, and Finley transferred to Auburn after spring practice. Johnson started all 12 of LSU's games in 2021.

Brennan backed up quarterback Joe Burrow in the 2019 season and was red-shirted in 2018. In 2017 as a true freshman, he completed 14 of 24 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions in six games as a backup to Danny Etling. Brennan completed 4 of 7 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown against Troy, but an interception was critical in LSU losing 24-21 to the 20-point underdogs. He played sparingly after that and tried to put on weight for the next two years.

Brennan will compete for playing time with Nussmeier and incoming freshman quarterback Walker Howard, a five-star prospect who signed with the Tigers on Wednesday and will enroll in January and be able to participate in spring practice. New LSU coach Brian Kelly recruited Howard while he was still Notre Dame's coach last season.

LSU offensive line coach Brad Davis, who is coaching the bowl for the Tigers while Kelly tries to catch up in recruiting and in hiring a staff, said LSU is pursuing an NCAA waiver to its four-game-max rule concerning red-shirting, so Nussmeier could play.

"We're working through some things right now to be able to have him play for us and still maintain his red-shirt," Davis said Monday. "That's something that's in the process. If that were denied for whatever reason, we have some contingencies in place."

LSU athletic department officials have not confirmed any attempt at a waiver concerning Nussmeier.

That contingency is freshman walk-on quarterback Matt O'Dowd from Plantation, Florida, and senior wide receiver Jontre Kirklin, who is on scholarship. Kirklin played quarterback at Lutcher High School. Neither have played quarterback this season.

LSU ADDS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

New LSU coach Brian Kelly, who was known for developing quality offensive lines as Notre Dame's coach, has added Florida International freshman transfer offensive tackle Miles Frazier (6-foot-5, 305 pounds). Frazier started at left tackle in the 2021 season for Florida International, which finished 1-11 overall and 0-8 in Conference USA.

Frazier was also being recruited by Ohio State, Florida State, North Carolina State, UCLA, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Iowa State after entering the NCAA transfer portal on Nov. 29.

A Camden, N.J., native, Frazier was a two-star prospect when he signed in 2020 with Florida International out of Milford Academy Prep in New Berlin, N.Y. He played in one game at FIU in 2020 and was redshirted.