Garrett Nussmeier opens up on postgame moment he shared with Jayden Daniels

Garrett Nussmeier took the reins for LSU against Wisconsin for the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl, as Jayden Daniels decided to sit the game out.

That didn’t mean Daniels wasn’t involved though. He was there every step of the way for his fellow quarterback, cheering him on against the Badgers. After Nussmeier and the Tigers secured a win, the two quarterbacks shared a moment on the field, as their journey together finally came to an end.

Speaking with the media after the 35-31 victory, Nussmeier explained what went into that moment with Daniels, and how much he appreciates all that he’s learned from the reigning Heisman winner.

“I appreciate our relationship a lot,” Nussmeier said. “It was kind of a moment of — it was like roles reversed. I’m used to giving him a high five after he just made a Heisman statement or something like that. So it was cool. I appreciate him a lot. I’m grateful for the time we had together.”

Alas, Nussmeier did his best impression of Daniels during LSU’s bowl game. The quarterback completed 31 of his 45 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns while only throwing one interception.

The Tigers trailed Wisconsin by two scores early in the matchup, but behind Nussmeier’s lead, LSU overcame the deficit and outscored the Badgers 35-17 — which was capped by a 98-yard game-winning drive. 

Afterwards, Tigers head coach Brian Kelly broke down Nussmeier’s performance in the bowl game, and how his comfortability led to LSU’s victory over the Badgers in the final minutes of the game. 

“I think when he felt much more comfortable,” Kelly said during his post-game press conference after the win. “I thought Wisconsin did a great job of changing up coverages, I think when he really started identifying some of their trap two and three, and the mixtures. [The offensive line] did a really good job with protections. He was clean all day. I don’t know if he was sacked at all. 

“But I think once he got a good sense of what was going on out there, the speed of the game. You saw him later in the game — he made some really good checks, he changed protections, and it just took some time for him to get there. I knew eventually he would, it was just a matter of we needed to slow him down on defense, and we did, and he was able to get our offense going. The big throws down the field, the 98-yard drive was the big one where that’s what he can do. He can get the ball down the field.”

Perhaps next season will finally be Garrett Nussmeier’s chance to lead LSU for an extended period of time. We’ll see if he gets the keys to the car, but he’s earned the right to be at least in the conversation next season.

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this article.