Brian Kelly expresses excitement over Garrett Nussmeier leading LSU's offense

Waiting in the wings of Jayden Daniels has been Garrett Nussmeier. Entering his fourth season in college football, Nussmeier is a rare breed in modern college football. He has waited his turn behind an eventual Heisman Trophy winner and head coach Brian Kelly is hoping that patience pays off for LSU.

Nussmeier has gotten playing time over the last three seasons. He played in the maximum of four games during the 2021 season before taking a redshirt. As Daniels’ backup, Nussmeier still made 14 appearances and attempted over 150 throws.

Even so, Kelly believes Nussmeier is still in the process of developing. The 2024 season is going to be a whole new experience for the quarterback by truly taking first-team reps for the first time in his career. As Nussmeier gets more comfortable, he will only get better.

“I think more than anything else is his development,” Kelly said when talking with On3’s J.D. PicKell on The Hard Count. “This is still a young man that is going to get better over time. He’s going to get all the reps that he hasn’t gotten. And we’ve saw glimpses of Garrett Nussmeier with very few reps.

“I think all of us, collectively, really like what we saw. So, what I think what’s exciting for me is — a guy that’s really going to get a lot of the reps and is going to get better and better.”

When Daniels opted out of LSU’s bowl game against Wisconsin, Kelly threw Nussmeier out there and gave him control of the offense. He had to be happy with the result, with Nussmeier throwing for 395 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception while completing 68.9% of his throws.

The most impressive part, though, was the game-winning drive Nussmeier led. LSU went 98 yards on eight plays in just over three minutes to take the lead. Wisconsin got the ball back but the Tigers defense prevailed to earn a ReliaQuest Bowl win.

“We got a glimpse of it against Wisconsin,” Kelly said “As the game unfolded, he got more comfortable, and he leads us on a 90+ yard drive at the end of the game. I think there is more to come and that’s the exciting part.”

Nussmeier will once again be thrown into the fire with LSU starting the 2024 regular season off hot in Las Vegas against USC. If he can get close to the level of Daniels the past two seasons, expectations in Baton Rouge will continue to be sky-high, especially in the new-look SEC.