Nussmeier excited for LSU's revamped receiver room in 2025

Garrett Nussmeier ended the year with over 4,000 passing yards and 29 touchdowns in his first year as a starter at LSU, but the Tigers’ offense was still not at the level it needed to be at in 2024.

With a poor redzone offense, the 107th ranked run game, and limited consistency at wide receiver, LSU struggled down the stretch of SEC play and as a result lost three straight games, ending the year at 8-4. Over the offseason so far, there has been a renewed urgency to get top-end talent from the portal to complement the returning players and that is especially evident at wide receiver.

Nussmeier was the only quarterback in the country to have more than 3,900 yards and not have a 1,000 yard receiver, in fact, he didn’t even have a receiver break 900 yards, as Aaron Anderson led the way at 884. Nussmeier also had the lowest yards per attempt of any quarterback in the top seven of passing yards.

The Tigers looked to become more dynamic in a hurry and have done just that in the transfer portal, adding Barion Brown from Kentucky, Nic Anderson from Oklahoma, and Destyn Hill from Florida State. Pair that with the promising return of Chris Hilton and the speed on the perimeter is taken to another level.

“I’m very excited,” Nussmeier said before the bowl game. “I saw there was a graphic going around about the guys and their speed and that’s pretty unbelievable. We have a lot of guys who can make plays and some of them are still here. We have guys that are here and we’re going to bring guys in that will make some plays and it’s going to be a very competitive room and a very talented room, so I’m excited. We’ve got so many good players in that room.”

Along with Hilton, the Tigers return Aaron Anderson, Kyle Parker, and Zavion Thomas who are all capable playmakers in the short-to-intermediate. With those three paired with the top-end speed from the aforementioned names, there was really only one need left for this room, which LSU addressed in 6-foot-4 Nic Anderson.

“That was certainly a position where we wanted someone who matched that profile,” Kelly said of Anderson. “We had hit all the others that have the speed and athleticism we needed, so we were looking for somebody specific just like that profile that he possesses.”

Now, LSU heads into the new season with a renewed enthusiasm offensively. While most of the questions will remain about the new-look offensive line, there’s a confidence in the skill positions heading into this year that was not present last year.

Nussmeier coming back raised the urgency in the portal for LSU and now the Tigers’ quarterback heads into his fifth year, looking to prove that he can be significantly better in 2025.

“It was an interesting decision and I had to do my due diligence [in coming back or going to the draft], but I feel like the product I put out there wasn’t what I wanted it to be and I wasn’t as consistent as I wanted it to be,” Nussmeier said. “I owed it to the coaches and the people who have invested so much time into me to reach my best and the players who have busted their tails every day with me as well. The job wasn’t finished and the business was not handled yet, so there’s a lot more for me to come back and do.”