WATCH: LSU football QBs during their team’s first preseason practice
LSU quarterbacks Garrett Nussmeier (13), Rickie Collins (10), AJ Swann (15) and Colin Hurley (16) work out during the first fall practice.
BATON ROUGE – Not all coaches know what to expect from their teams at the start of the season.
Teams trained for months with players competing against teammates wearing the same color jerseys, went through evaluation phases and strategy introductions – all in an effort to bring the best version of themselves to the field at the start of a new season.
For the No. 12 LSU football team heading into its 2024 season opener in Las Vegas against No. 23 USC, there are many unknowns regarding Brian Kelly’s group, who is entering his third season at the helm of the Tigers.
But Kelly said having junior Garrett Nussmeier take over the offense as starting quarterback alleviates some of his “anxiety” about the look and performance of the offense.
“Having a quarterback who’s been in the system for the last couple of years, who knows what it looks like, what it’s like to be in an SEC battle, and who’s played against a damn good defense before, lets you go into these games with a little more composure,” Kelly told reporters Monday during his weekly press conference.
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In this day and age of transfer portals and players quickly leaving one school to go elsewhere, Nussmeier has been waiting for his turn to lead the Tigers at quarterback.
Nussmeier has worked with current offensive coordinator Joe Sloan since arriving on campus, as he is also the quarterbacks coach. The junior signal-caller is familiar with Sloan’s approach and has a solid foundation of LSU’s offense.
When last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels was eliminated from the ReliaQuest Bowl, Nussmeier made his first career start and led LSU to a 35-31 victory over Wisconsin, completing 31 of 45 passes for 395 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
During his career, Nussmeier played 18 games for the Tigers, throwing for 1,720 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
While LSU’s new starting quarterback isn’t new to the program and the other guys in the locker room are, Kelly and Sloan will have different expectations for Nussmeier. His experience and development provide some relief, but clarity will only come with time on the field.
“Opening games are difficult, right? You train so much – spring training, preseason – and then you have to switch it up to performance. It’s the first game and you have to play at a high level in the opening game. I think every coach has that unease in the opening game because they don’t know exactly what they’re going to get when they flip the switch,” Kelly said. “You hope the execution is flawless.
“We expect a much better performance from this group because they are so mature. Garrett has been in games. He has started games and played four quarters. He has a better feel, but we need to play a little more football.”
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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Have questions about LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at [email protected].
