Joel Klatt uses Garrett Nussmeier as key in ranking LSU No. 7 for 2025-2026

The LSU Tigers are coming off an up-and-down 9-4 season in 2024. Now, as they prepare for the 2025 season, they’re looking to take a step forward.

One person who thinks LSU is more than capable of taking that step to the next level is Joel Klatt. He currently has the Tigers ranked seventh in the country, ahead of teams like Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. The key to that ranking, as he explained on The Joel Klatt Show, comes down to the play of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

“I believe in Garrett Nussmeier more than Gunner Stockton,” Joel Klatt said. “So, you might be yelling right now, ‘Do you trust Brian Kelly more than Kirby Smart?’ The answer is no, but those guys aren’t on the field. As you know, at some points, when you’ve got basically a tie between these teams, you’ve got to think to yourself, well, who do I trust most at quarterback.”

For Klatt, the quarterback he trusts the most is Garrett Nussmeier who first got to LSU in the Class of 2021 as a four-star recruit. He’d spend three seasons largely as a backup, including behind Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels. Finally, in 2024, he took over as the starter, completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.

“So, let’s take a look at the ninth, eighth, and seventh-ranked teams on my list. Alabama, Georgia, and LSU. Well, they go in order of who I believe in at quarterback. Alabama, don’t know at all. Haven’t seen it at all. Gunner Stockton is now at eight with Georgia. Why? Well, we’ve seen a little bit. Do I totally trust it? Nah. Number seven LSU, yes. Garrett Nussmeier is going to be one of the top picks in the NFL Draft. I believe in him. Second year as a starter, fifth in the program. He sat behind Jayden Daniels. He’s seen it done at a high level.”

Klatt is also excited about the defense that LSU brings back for the 2025 season. With some improvement, it could be a formidable unit.

“The defense finally took a step forward in their first season under Blake Baker — their defensive coordinator. They’re gonna have Whit Weeks back at linebacker. Harold Perkins is back after tearing his ACL early last year. He’s gonna stay at that star position this year. They’ve got the hybrid linebacker, safety, that star kind of position. I think that fits him,” Klatt said. “They’ve got the number one ranked Transfer Portal class. They’ve got 17 transfer players coming in. Number two by average player ranking. So, not just quantity but quality.”

There are a couple of challenges for LSU going into 2025. To get where they want to go, Brian Kelly needs more success than he’s had in the past. Kelly took Notre Dame to a BCS National Championship Game and the College Football Playoff twice. However, he never won there and often was accused of struggling in big games. That, combined with a difficult schedule, is going to be challenging to overcome.

“The only thing working against them in my estimation is I think Brian is going to have to take a team above what he has ever taken a team,” Klatt said. “And then their schedule is tough. So, they miss Georgia and Texas, but they’ve got a season opener on the road against Clemson. Don’t love that game for them. They’ve got to go against South Carolina, Florida, and [Texas] A&M. Those are at home. Then they play Alabama on the road, Ole Miss on the road, Oklahoma on the road. That’s LSU.”

LSU opens the season on August 30th on the road against Clemson. SEC play then kicks off on September 13th when the Tigers host Florida.