Johnny Manziel’s mesmerizing play-style and record breaking Heisman campaign have launched him to the top of the college football world. Both on the field and off the field, he’s always making headlines. He’s overshadowed other notable talents, especially quarterbacks, in the SEC. The most impressive player that’s being overshadowed by Manziel is a fellow quarterback. Zach Mettenberger, quarterback of the LSU Tigers, is an emerging signal caller in the SEC that has shown great improvement from last season and is having a low-key Heisman year thus far. Not only has his improvement benefited him and his future draft stock, but his team is more feared by the rest of the conference than they have been since their 2009 BCS National Championship.

Entering the season, Mettenberger seemed to be “just another guy” with a rocket arm at the helm of LSU. Five games into the 2013 season, he looks like an entirely new player. Mettenberger is smarter, more poised, and shows more confidence than he ever has before. His decision making, knowing when and when not to throw it, is much improved. He's standing stronger in the pocket and has finally taken strong command of his offense. His new mentality and confidence, due in part by Cam Cameron (his new offensive coordinator), has lit a fire among the rest of the team and has led to LSU being the most explosive offense in the SEC.

Mettenberger is on pace to exceed every statistic that he posted last season and has already done so with touchdowns. As of now, he holds a 64.1 percentage of completion and has only thrown a single interception, despite throwing 128 passes. He is on pace for just over 3,300 passing yards for the regular season and will surely surpass 3,500 through a possible conference championship match and a bowl game. His commanding attitude and newfound leadership has lead his team to averaging 42.8 points per game. Due to his success, LSU has become a much stronger offense than they were last year. Last season, the Tigers only scored an average of 29.8 points, which is exactly 13 fewer points than Mettenberger has been able to put together per game this year.