ShareThisThe last time LSU coach Les Miles looked in his locker room, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady wasn't ready to run on the field as the Tigers' starting quarterback.
"You'd love to have a great quarterback like that, love to give him every snap," Miles said. "Because he's an advantage for you in every situation, every down-and-distance, every personnel group. I'm not ready to say we have that guy, but we do have guys with certain strengths and abilities."
That's why since the return of last year's starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson from a four-game suspension because of a preseason arrest after a bar fight, Miles has been using a two-QB system for the last three games.
And while critics keep saying No. 1 LSU can't win a national championship with senior Jarrett Lee as the starter and Jefferson, another senior, coming off the bench and getting substantial time, the Tigers haven't missed a beat.
Miles' willingness to do whatever it takes to juice his offense seems to be an attitude that has spread around the league in the last several years. So far this year in the SEC, 19 different players have started at quarterback.
Half of the league's teams -- Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt -- have had the same starting QB every game (though Auburn and Vanderbilt will have new starters this weekend).
Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Tennessee have started two or more different QBs.
"If I've got two quarterbacks fairly close in ability and maybe one does something better than the other," said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, "then you find a way to play both of them."
Case in point: Spurrier won his last SEC title as Florida's coach in 2000 using both Rex Grossman and Jesse Palmer at QB.
"Rex played in four of the wins and Jesse played in four of the wins," Spurrier said. "Jesse sprained his ankle and it gave Rex a chance. We used them back and forth, and somehow it worked out for us."
It's a rarity for a coach to pull off using two quarterbacks flawlessly, since it's hard finding QBs who will accept and thrive in such a system.
One of the hardest things for a coach to do is to sign highly recruited quarterbacks year after year and keep them happy with playing time. Sooner or later, one of the studs is going to transfer if he doesn't get his chance, but player opportunities these days are often coming sooner rather than later.
"I think (high school) quarterbacks now are farther along, because of all the training in high school, all the 7-on-7 (summer) competitions," Florida coach Will Muschamp said.
Coaches also must devise how to play both QBs without interrupting the flow of a game. It's something Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen is trying to master with new starter Tyler Russell and displaced starter Chris Relf.
"Sometimes I have distinct package for each quarterback, other times I just go off feel (when to switch QBs)," Mullen said.
And while you have some coaches who believe you can't have enough quarterbacks on your roster -- "I always felt you should have three good ones, because it (injuries) can happen quickly," Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said -- there are coaches who believe they pick a starting QB, and, with luck, can ride like a show pony.
"I believe in finding a starter and forming an offense around him," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "I also have a short list of things my backup quarterback can do well and have him work on those each week."
"I had one year (at Louisville) where I did bring a true freshman (Brian Brohm in 2004) off the bench every game in the second quarter. He played real well (819 yards, six TDs) and was hard to defense. He was real special."
Miles said he has never minded playing two quarterbacks, because he finds it gives both players peace of mind during game preparation.
"When you walk a guy on to the field regularly and he knows he's playing, his preparation is true," Miles said. "So if we stick that guy in the game (off the bench) and he has to go win it for us, he's not fastening his chin strap the first time. He's going into the game prepared.
"It's an advantage. It's nice to keep your long or short reliever warmed up in the bullpen."
(Contact Ron Higgins of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., at www.commercialappeal.com.)
