Danny Etling’s phone lit up Monday night. LSU’s starting quarterback looked down and it was Austin Appleby.
Etling and Appleby are good friends. Appleby arrived at Purdue in 2012 and Etling followed a year later. It was in 2013 when the two began battling for playing time at Purdue. This Saturday they’ll battle once again.
Etling won out initially. When senior Rob Henry was pulled during a week five loss to Northern Illinois it was the true freshman Etling, not redshirt freshman Appleby that was started the last seven games. Etling started slow in 2014 (55% completion percentage, six touchdowns, five interceptions) and was replaced by Appleby, who started the final seven games of that season.