Garrett Nussmeier could’ve left LSU for a chance to start — so why did the QB stay?
BATON ROUGE, La. — The most valuable position in football is also the most fragile. It’s how a program like LSU can go from having one of the more stable and talented lines of quarterbacks in the country just four months ago to spending the final days of April sweating to ensure it wouldn’t be left with a true freshman backup.
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This is the modern world of college football. This is where programs are actually shaped, not just on signing day or with the big-name transfer additions, but in the quiet background battles to keep their best players from leaving.
In the end, LSU redshirt sophomore quarterback Garrett Nussmeier decided not to enter the transfer portal, with the spring window closing Sunday, a huge coup for the present and future of LSU football. It means it has what Brian Kelly likes to call “two starting quarterbacks” for a 2023 season of high expectations, and also that LSU has a potential star ready to step in for its talented 2024 team.
It’s understood that fifth-year senior Jayden Daniels is LSU’s No. 1 quarterback entering this fall after he led LSU to a 10-win SEC West title season. The four-year starter — between Arizona State and LSU — threw for 2,913 yards, 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions while rushing for a team-leading 885 yards and 11 touchdowns. With five starters back on the offensive line and a talented group of skill players, the hope is for Daniels to take a leap toward being one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
But Nussmeier also made a name for himself, a former top-100 recruit and son of longtime SEC offensive coordinator and current Los Angeles Chargers quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier. He stole the show at the otherwise boring blowout loss of an SEC Championship Game for LSU by throwing for 294 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia in the second half, launching highlight-reel darts and scrambling around to extend plays. He only bolstered his new hype when he rotated with Daniels during the Citrus Bowl against Purdue and went 11-of-15 for 173 yards and two more scores.
Football is Fun! 😁
— Garrett Nussmeier (@Garrettnuss13) April 26, 2023
It would have been reasonable — if not expected — for Nussmeier to enter the portal once Daniels decided to return for a final season. Nussmeier is good enough to start for a large portion of SEC schools, plus he has three remaining years of eligibility.
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But he didn’t. By the time of LSU’s January bowl game, LSU staff sources said they had received consistent word from the Nussmeier camp that he was staying put. Those same sources said they were fully aware Nussmeier had received calls from other schools trying to poach him. One source said a prominent Power 5 program made a strong offer.
Then, LSU’s five-star true freshman Walker Howard entered the portal and transferred to rival Ole Miss, a somewhat shocking move considering most viewed him as the heir apparent. That move further signaled that conversations were had in the LSU football operations building indicating Nussmeier was staying and that he would be the quarterback of the future.
Still, by the time the post-spring portal window opened, LSU remained reasonably on its toes. One LSU source said, “Always biting fingernails this time of year no matter who it may be but can’t lose him.”
So how did LSU keep him?
For starters, as the son of a coach, a former SEC coach at that, Nussmeier knows the wild world of quarterback musical chairs as well as anyone, but he also understands the big picture involved in quarterback development and that it’s not always better to jump around for the short-term fix. Also, while Nussmeier played high school ball in the Dallas area, he was born in Lake Charles, La., and considers Louisiana home. This part often gets overlooked, but he really likes LSU. He’s often seen hyping up Daniels after plays and talking things through between drives. He’s not unhappy.
He also needed to think about his development. At the end of the day, it’s easier said than done to sit and wait until a fourth year to start when you know you can play elsewhere. Kelly, speaking at the Houston Touchdown Club on Tuesday, acknowledged what went into LSU’s pitch.
“I think we had to prove to him that, one, that he could continue to develop and, two, that he clearly would be given an opportunity to work with the first group,” Kelly said.
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That’s interesting. Obviously Daniels is the starter, but he’s also an experienced player with 43 games played. He knows what he’s doing. Meanwhile reps are the oft-forgotten part of these decisions. As much as we all like to say, “Stay and develop,” it’s hard to develop when a QB is getting only a few reps a day with the second or third team. Kelly coming out and saying that Nussmeier will receive opportunities to be treated like a co-first-team quarterback is a big deal.
“I think we showed that,” Kelly said. “So we built trust with him, and consequently, he felt like this was a better option for him than striking out and doing something that would require him to start over.”
That’s the other wrinkle. Yes, Nussmeier is good enough to likely leave for another Power 5 school and start quickly, but he’d be starting over. Plus, he would likely be going to a team that’s not ready to compete for titles while LSU can pitch taking over in 2024 with two All-SEC offensive tackles in Will Campbell and Emery Jones in their junior years, a talented receiving corps and a staff in its third season together. There are benefits to both sides, but maybe going 7-5 or 8-4 as a starter a year early isn’t all that much better than taking over a top five or 10 team and having a chance to blow up in 2024.
Finally, let’s acknowledge the other elephant in the room. Daniels is a running quarterback with a rather thin frame. While Daniels has been very durable during his career, it’s not wild to think Nussmeier could be asked to take over a top-10 team at some point this season.
Let’s not forget LSU also rotated quarterbacks pretty smoothly in the Citrus Bowl. Do I expect LSU to run a true two-quarterback system? No. But even if Daniels is healthy, I expect Nussmeier to see some playing time this fall. Kelly has plenty of history of rotating quarterbacks at Notre Dame, and one can cite his post-Citrus Bowl comments in January on the quarterback situation.
“The most important thing is that when you have two really good quarterbacks, you have to have an open mind,” Kelly said. “You can’t be close-minded looking at two elite quarterbacks. What we’ve committed to is an open mind and an open process where you can go in and give you an opportunity to continue to grow.”
This is a major win for LSU. It has the extremely rare luxury of knowing its quarterback situation for at least the next two seasons, and more importantly, it has reason to be excited about those quarterbacks.
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Then, if Nussmeier is good enough to go pro after the 2024 season, that’s a great problem to have considering it means he did well. LSU can turn to third-year Rickie Collins and current four-star commit Collin Hurley. Both will have spent some time in the program by 2025, and LSU can decide if they’re good enough. If not, LSU can look to the portal where it is usually one of the better options for transfers.
Credit Kelly and LSU, and credit Nussmeier for taking the road less traveled. We’ll see if he and LSU are the better for it.
(Photo: Joe Petro / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
