During spring practice 2010, the word from head coach Les Miles and the LSU staff was how improved Jordan Jefferson was, and that he was learning the system and making better decisions. 

However, his performance in the 2010 spring game revealed pretty much the same old Jordan Jefferson, except worse.

He actually seemed to regress, in all areas.  

In fact, it was Jarrett Lee’s performance at quarterback that was the surprise of the spring, as Lee outperformed Jefferson in front of an ESPN TV audience and seemed to be the one who had really improved and demonstrated a grasp of the offense.

But when 2010 fall practice began, it was again Jordan Jefferson the coaches were praising and saying how improved he was heading into the season.  

Without going into details of the 2010 season, Jefferson and the LSU Tigers struggled mightily with a nonexistent passing offense until Jarrett Lee came off the bench to give the Tigers a much-improved passing game.

Jefferson continued to struggle until the Alabama game, when he suddenly came into his own and had his best game of the year to that point.

Because of Jefferson’s great game and the excellent coaching job by Miles, the Tigers  brought home a victory against the vaunted Crimson Tide and former LSU coach Nick Saban.

From the Alabama game to the end of the season, we all began to see the new Jordan Jefferson, and the fans’ discontent with both Miles and Jefferson became a thing of the past.  

Against a very good Texas A&M team in the Cotton Bowl, Jordan Jefferson played the best and most productive game of his career at LSU, and as a result has become the man to beat going into LSU’s spring practice.  

Again, Coach Miles is saying how improved Jefferson is and how well he has learned the system.

The fact that Jordan Jefferson has been in competition against very talented quarterback recruit Zack Mettenberger has had a lot to do with his progress.

Mettenberger came in as the second-ranked junior college quarterback of 2010, and most feel it will be just a matter of time before he assumes the starting job. 

Based on the results of all the LSU scrimmages in 2011, however, Jordan Jefferson appears to have shown himself as the clear No. 1 QB at this time, and Miles continues to express how pleased he is with Jefferson.

To further support his claim as the starter, Jefferson threw four touchdowns in the last scrimmage before the spring game coming up April 9th, this Saturday.  

But Miles is not closing the door on Mettenberger. He continues to praise Mettenberger’s strong arm and talent, and it seems that their grasp of the offense from being in the system for the last three years is the main reason both Jefferson and Lee are staying ahead of Mettenberger.

Still, make no mistake about it: Jordan Jefferson has performed very well this spring.

He has earned the job, and well deserves to be the starting quarterback. Unlike last year’s optimistic assessment by Coach Miles, all reports indicate Jefferson has been living up to the praise and seems to be responding very well to the teaching and encouragement of new offensive coordinator Steve Kraigthorpe.   

Maybe former offensive coordinator Gary Crowton just couldn’t relate to Jefferson (the two were rarely on the same page with each other) but it appears Kraigthorpe has been able to both teach and relate to Jefferson and the other quarterbacks.

This Saturday’s 2011 LSU spring football game should provide the answers as to whether Jordan Jefferson is truly the best and most capable of the three LSU quarterbacks. 

Read more College Football news on BleacherReport.com