BATON ROUGE, La. - If you saw JaMarcus Russell in full uniform two years ago, you probably assumed he was an integral part of a defense that helped LSU win a national championship.

At 6-foot-5 and about 250 pounds, he fit right in with the bunch that terrorized SEC offenses throughout the 2003 season. You could have put an 8 or 5 in front of the No. 4 on his jersey and passed him off as a defensive end or middle linebacker. He looked more like LSU defensive end Marcus Spears than LSU quarterback Matt Mauck.

But he threw a football more like Bert Jones or Rohan Davey than Matt Mauck.

Arizona State can vouch for that. It was on the losing end of Russell's game-winning, touchdown pass two weeks ago.

Never mind that Russell was LSU's starting quarterback in four games as a redshirt freshman last season. This year's opener against Arizona State was the first time he felt like a No. 1 quarterback.

He and senior Marcus Randall spent the 2004 season in a dizzying quarterback rotation that produced unspectacular results.

"It's kind of hard," said Russell, a former high school All-American from Mobile, Ala. "Every time you do something wrong, you're always peeking to the sideline to see if (the coach) is coming to get you. Even if you do it right, you're still kind of looking to see."

If Russell peeks to the sideline out of habit Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, it will be no different than looking in the mirror. He's the only quarterback in sight.

"Me and him (offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher) had a talk during pregame warm-ups before the (Arizona State) game," Russell said. "He said, 'Play like you've got nothing to lose.' That gave me a lot of confidence.

"Now, it's not like (last year). Coach (Fisher) says, 'Play like you're the only guy at this position.' "

As the No. 1 and only, Russell completed 16-of-29 passes for 232 yards against the Sun Devils. Those statistics are misleading in that receivers dropped six passes.

Catching Russell's passes is not for sissies. He can throw the ball the length of the field, according to the LSU press guide, and receivers probably are better off not knowing what Russell's best fastball would register on radar.

The physical part of his game was never in question while he was starring at former UT quarterback Tee Martin's high school. But as you watched Russell struggle in last year's quarterback rotation, you couldn't be so sure if he would master the nuances of the position.

"Just because a guy runs fast doesn't make him a great receiver," Fisher said. "Ability is one thing. Then you have to apply the knowledge with the ability in the proper situation and moment. There's a lot more to being a great football player than being a great athlete."

Fisher admits that Russell developed bad habits in high school.

"When you're gifted like that, you get into the habit of not having to prepare," Fisher said. "At that level, you're so much bigger than everybody. You can see things that other guys can't.

"It's a testament to him as a person that he's been willing to go back to the basics and do it from the ground up."

Fisher says Russell has a firm grasp of the offense and is comfortable changing plays at the line of scrimmage. He also was impressed that Russell used his running ability against Arizona State as a last resort, rather than as a substitute for analyzing pass coverage.

"Coach Tom Landry had the old adage: 'Running is a great excuse for not knowing what the heck's going on,' " Fisher said. "He said that when he had a young Roger Staubach (at quarterback)."

Russell's performance was the most encouraging aspect of LSU's first game. Ability notwithstanding, his inconsistency as a freshman hardly qualified him as a surefire success.

In fact, he and Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley probably fostered as many preseason questions as any players in the SEC.

Both began the season as talented athletes on teams capable of winning the conference championship. But would they be accurate enough passers, and could they play at a championship level on a consistent basis?

Shockley looked like the premier player in the SEC in Georgia's season opener against Boise State. The following game against South Carolina, he was so ineffective that coach Mark Richt all but abandoned the passing game in the second half.

Russell has had one good game. Can he follow it with another one, against a considerably better defense than Arizona State's?

The championship aspirations of both UT and LSU could be hanging in the balance.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.