Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports
LSU senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger enters his senior season trying to capitalize on the momentum he built during the end of his junior season that started when he threw for a career-high 298 yards vs. Alabama. He gives the Tigers hope of a potentially potent aerial attack in 2013.
Mettenberger threw for 2,609 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season and those numbers won’t wow you at first glance, but looking at his performances in his team’s final four regular season games gave an indication of the potential inside his right arm. Over the final four games in the 2012 season, he averaged 267.5 yards and tossed four touchdowns to only two interceptions, both of which came in the win over Ole Miss.
With his new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron calling plays and tutoring him, I expect Mettenberger to carry his performance at the end of last season–his performance in the Chick-fil-A Bowl notwithstanding–into a season where he approaches the 20-touchdown threshold and improves his completion percentage from 58.8 into the 63 percent range.
LSU isn’t going to be a radically different team on offense and operate out of four wide receiver sets, but the team will be able to rely on his arm more so this year, trust him to air it out when necessary and not treat him like a game manager.
LSU is always a threat to win the SEC and the improved play of Mettenberger could be all they need to get past rival Alabama for SEC West supremacy.
Patrick is a college football writer for Rant Sports and radio host on Sportstownchicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickASchmidt and add him to your network on Google.
