Garrett Nussmeier injury update: Brian Kelly reveals where QBs health stands

It was revealed last week that LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been dealing with a lingering torso issue. You couldn’t tell based on his performance on Saturday against SE Louisiana.

Nussmeier completed 25-31 passing attempts for 273 yards and three touchdowns during the 56-10 victory. He added another score on the ground as well.

After the game, LSU head coach Brian Kelly revealed the latest on where Nussmeier stands in his recovery. If his play during Week 4 is any indication, the Tigers star QB is close to being 100 percent.

“We had talked about during the week that he was on the other side of the injury, and he felt really good,” Kelly told reporters. “And that’s why we actually ran him a little bit. He felt good running the football, and we knew during the week that he was healthy just by the way he was throwing the football. I would say that’s the version (of Nussmeier) that you’ll get the rest of the year.”

No exact timeline from Kelly was given, so it’s unclear whether this issue might span back to before the season-opening win against Clemson. The following two games vs. Louisiana Tech and Florida saw the LSU offense struggle, given the preseason expectations. They scored 23 and 20 points, respectively, against those two opponents. Week 4 was a completely different story offensively.

Coming into the weekend, Nussmeier was completing about 65 percent of his throws for 689 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He doubled his touchdown numbers on Saturday while completing 80 percent of his passing attempts.

Nussmeier’s recovery and bump in production comes at a perfect time in LSU’s schedule. Looking ahead, the Tigers will face ranked opponents in four of their next five matchups with the exception being South Carolina, who was ranked as high as No. 11 this season before falling to 2-2.

First up is a road trip to Ole Miss during Week 5. Both teams are 4-0 and have College Football Playoff aspirations. This was the case for both programs one year ago, but were on the outside looking in on the CFP when the final selections were made. That makes winning this early-season ranked SEC matchup all the more important with foes like Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma, among others, on the horizon.

LSU and Ole Miss will kick off on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET. ABC will have the national broadcast.