JD PicKell: Why Garrett Nussmeier has the most juice in LSU quarterback room
The LSU quarterback battle is among the most intriguing in the SEC. Most teams in the league either return their starter from last year or have a de facto starter in place at this point in the preseason. But not the new Tigers under Brian Kelly. In fact, while most QB competitions are thinning out, LSU’s may be expanding, according to On3’s JD PicKell.
Myles Brennan and Jayden Daniels were the most popular names all summer. But over on the On3 YouTube channel, PicKell revealed he thinks Garrett Nussmeier could be a factor in the competition as well, given his gunslinger mentality and raw talent.
You can watch PicKell breakdown Nussmeier’s potential for this upcoming season right here or read what he had to say below.
JD PicKell on Garrett Nussmeier
“We’re talking about this third guy Garrett Nussmeier. The biggest plus for him that I’ve seen, at least when you watch the spring game, the offense moves under Garrett Nussmeier. He had probably the most consistent spring by most accounts. Had a really strong summer was awarded top performer awards for things he did in the weight room and nutrition-wise.”
Not just has he impressed. PicKell believes he could actually win the job.
“Like when you talk about Garrett Nussmeier, he’s just a guy that’s done all the right things. Like he has consistently checked every single box for this staff since the season ended last year. And so Garrett Nussmeier, right now, is the guy that I think has the most juice about him. Has the most buzz around this program. There are a lot of people that are Garrett Nussmeier fans in-house at LSU.
“So for him, I’m just thinking — to see, how does he develop under this staff? How does he develop and take that next step as a quarterback? Because the concern with him is his gunslinger mentality. And that’s a little bit of a two-sided coin because a lot of the great quarterbacks are gunslingers. A lot of the great quarterbacks — what makes them great is they have some gunslinger in them. Now, where you hate that is when you start to be the gunslinger to the point where you throw the ball to the other team. Because Garrett Nussmeier, so far in four games of action, has two touchdowns but two interceptions.
“So now, it is a new staff. It’s a new leaf for Garrett Nussmeier. He’s a redshirt freshman. Got a lot of football ahead of him. But the fact that he’s made this a three horse race when a lot of people thought it was Jayden Daniels and Myles Brennan going for the job. The fact that he’s now in this conversation should tell you a lot about Garrett Nussmeier in general.”