Blame the end of final exams. Or the slow last weeks of May before summer workouts begin. Or the simple fact that the police blotter doesn’t seem quite as active as usual. But without much real “news” to cover here at Crystal Ball Run, we’ve been left with little choice but to dip our toes into the extremely subjective and objectionable world of high school football recruiting the last couple weeks! Can you feel the excitement!
Well, we’re back at it again today, with another big name commitment, heading to another SEC superpower. That’s because a week after Alabama got their quarterback of the future, it appears as though LSU has theirs as well. His name is Hayden Rettig, and come the fall of 2013, he could be coming to an SEC stadium near you.
First the essentials on Rettig: Listed at 6’4, 210 lbs., Rettig appears to be a perfect fit in the pro-style attack that Les Miles and company run down on the Bayou. Rettig is ranked as the fifth best pro-style quarterback in the class of 2013 by Rivals.com, a ranking that is all the more impressive considering that he missed almost all of his junior year with an ACL injury. The Los Angeles native held scholarship offers from most schools in the Pac-12, including Arizona, Arizona State, Washington State and Oregon State, and if you’re looking for a fun fact of the day, it’s that Rettig is the brother of current Boston College starter Chase Rettig. Feel free to throw that one around at your next cocktail party.
And now that we’ve gotten the boring stuff out of the way, let us all say this: Rettig’s commitment is a huge get for Les Miles staff. On one of college football’s deepest rosters, the quarterback position is woefully thin going forward, and Rettig could be a very significant bridge into the future.
Everyone knows that entering 2012, it will be junior Zach Mettenberger who takes the reigns of the offense, but beyond him, it’s anyone’s guess as to who is next. With both Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee gone, the only other players on the roster listed at quarterback are redshirt freshmen Stephen Rivers and Jerrard Randall, two players, who- as you might’ve guessed- have played a combined zero college snaps between them. True freshman Jeremy Liggins could be in the fold as the back-up as well.
Of course if you follow recruiting you also know that Liggins was a contingency plan in his own right. As you may remember, Liggins only came aboard late in the process, after Les Miles and crew had been burned by the indecisive Gunner Kiel, the top quarterback prospect in 2012, who seemed destined to end up at LSU… until one day he wasn’t, literally choosing instead to enroll at Notre Dame the day he was supposed to arrive in Baton Rouge. It left a gaping hole on LSU’s recruiting board, but to the credit of Miles and Co., they recovered nicely with Liggins.
Yet what the lack of quarterback depth also means is that once Mettenberger’s collegiate eligibility runs out at the end of 2013, the quarterback position could be wide open. Coming off his redshirt freshman season, Rettig could absolutely be in play for the open spot.
And once he does step on the field, well, he should be playing around the usual cast of crazy-talented teammates that LSU puts on the field. Rettig is the 10th commitment of LSU’s 2013 class, with exactly half of them coming in with four stars. Included is wide receiver John Diarse, who could end up as Rettig’s best friend once the pair get on campus.
There’s still a long way between now and February, but it looks like Les Miles is again putting together a monster class. And the headliner is now Rettig.
Now, let’s just hope he doesn’t do anything funny like Kiel last season.
For all his insight, analysis and articles on college football and beyond, be sure to follow Aaron on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
