LSU Tigers Name Max Johnson as New Starting QB vs. Florida Gators

The Tigers will start their third quarterback of this season.

Now official, the LSU Tigers plan to start true freshman quarterback Max Johnson against the Florida Gators tonight, per Gordy Rush of 104.5 ESPN (Louisiana).

Orgeron implied Thursday it would be Max Johnson, now it's official.

It will pretty much be Johnson's first chance to run the whole offense, as he's mainly come in either to run or in garbage time. https://t.co/OLoT3LI25Y

— Brody Miller (@BrodyAMiller) December 12, 2020

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said on Thursday that Johnson had been receiving first-team reps in practice throughout the week. He claimed to have not made a decision yet, but it sure sounded at that point like Johnson was going to be the guy.

"We could go either way but it looks like it's gonna be Max," Orgeron said. "Obviously playing in the Swamp [Ben Hill Griffin Stadium] is gonna be new for every young player but I think those guys are ready to handle it. Not having 100,000 people doing that Gator chomp is gonna be an advantage for us."

Johnson will serve as the Tigers' third starting quarterback this season, replacing fellow true freshman TJ Finley, who has started the last five games after redshirt junior Myles Brennan went down with a torn abdomen. Finley flashed in moments, including a 265-yard, two-touchdown performance with an 81% completion percentage in his first career start against South Carolina, but has completed just 43.4% of his passes and thrown zero touchdowns over the last two games against Alabama and Texas A&M.

Finley was replaced by Johnson in garbage time against the Crimson Tide last Saturday and has made several appearances throughout the season, completing a total of 40-of-63 (63.5) throws for 395 yards and two touchdowns.

This is the second week in a row and fourth time this season that Florida has faced a true freshman starting quarterback. The Gators have allowed the first three freshman starters to complete 62-of-95 (65.3%) of their passes for 638 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.