Inconsistent quarterback play has plagued LSU over the past several years, and new coach Ed Orgeron was hoping to turn the position around in his first year. But a pair of decommitments over the past two weeks leaves an unstable position on shaky ground again.
The Tigers lost a commitment from ESPN 300 quarterback Lowell Narcisse on Monday morning. The 6-foot-3, 224-pound dual-threat quarterback from St. James (La.) High School had been committed to LSU since May.
"I have thought and Prayed long about the situation, and I've decided to de-commit from LSU," Narcisse tweeted Monday. "LSU is a Great school and I have much love and respect for the program, but I feel this [is] the best decision for myself right now."
Narcisse, the fifth-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the country, visited Auburn last weekend and received an in-home visit from the Tigers on Sunday night.
In addition to losing Narcisse, Myles Brennan reopened his recruitment last week. The ESPN 300 fifth-ranked pocket passer tweeted that he was not officially decommitting from LSU but wanted to look at other schools.
Thanks and God Bless! pic.twitter.com/bTszDGaBnf
— Myles Brennan (@mylesbrennan12) November 30, 2016
Brennan quickly received interest from such schools as Oklahoma State and Florida State, and the Tigers will certainly have to battle other programs if they want to hang on to him.
With no offensive coordinator in place and the dead period in recruiting (no in-person contact on- or off-campus) running through Jan. 12, LSU will have a lot of ground to make up before national signing day on Feb. 1.
So what options does LSU have left? Upon taking the head-coaching job, Orgeron immediately offered Alabama quarterback commit Tua Tagovailoa, and the Tigers were hoping to secure an official visit. Tagovailoa, however, decided not to visit LSU and is keeping his commitment to Alabama.
Orgeron has said he would like a quarterback who can run and throw, but other than Narcisse, all ESPN 300 dual-threat quarterbacks are committed to other schools. With less than two months until signing day and several quarterbacks enrolling in January, the options are limited for LSU at this point.
Hiring a big-name offensive coordinator who has a previous relationship with other quarterbacks might be the only chance the Tigers have of landing a top signal-caller in this recruiting cycle.