Jordan Rodgers questions Brian Kelly, Garrett Nussmeier claims on health: 'He's not 100 percent'

The LSU Tigers came into the 2025 season with massive expectations. Those stemmed, in no small part, from the expectation that quarterback Garrett Nussmeier would be among the best in the country and could potentially be a future first round pick.

There’s still time for Nussmeier to re-establish himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. On top of that, with just one loss, LSU is by no means out of the College Football Playoff race. Still, as the calendar turns to October, his stock is clearly down.

For ESPN analyst and former SEC quarterback Jordan Rodgers, there’s a reason why Garrett Nussmeier has struggled at times. He doesn’t seem healthy, and it’s affecting his ability to throw downfield.

“Yeah, we’re down on Nuss,” Jordan Rodgers said on Get Up. “I’m the one that was probably leading the bandwagon, saying that he was gonna be a Heisman hopeful. What we haven’t seen is the deep ball. I just think he’s not 100 percent. When you watch Garrett Nussmeier, it looks like every throw he’s throwing about 75 percent.”

This season, Garrett Nussmeier is completing 67.3 percent of his passes for 1,159 yards and seven touchdowns to three interceptions. That’s in five games. It also amounts to 231.8 yards per game, down from 311.7 yards per game last season.

Throughout the season, there have been concerns regarding Nussmeier’s health. In September, it was revealed that Nussmeier has been dealing with a lingering torso issue. That, obviously, can have its impact on the ability to throw the ball. However, Nussmeier recently pushed back against questions on his health, saying, “I’m not going to answer any questions about my health.” Head coach Brian Kelly, meanwhile, has insisted he’s healthy. However, Rodgers doesn’t seem to agree.

“You never really see him step into one and rip it like we saw last year. That was his superpower. Under pressure with guys in his face, he could create a great amount of velocity and accuracy. Every ball just seems to be fluttering toward the perimeter. The downfield throws,” Rodgers said. “You see the numbers here [25% completion on 20+ yards downfield in 2025, 40% completion in 2024], are not what they were last year. That’s not just being inaccurate. Those balls aren’t driving downfield. They’re coming up short. It doesn’t look like he’s 100 percent. He did hurt his ab or oblique in Camp. Re-aggravated it against Clemson. Brian Kelly has said he looks healthy. To me, he just doesn’t look it.”

Brian Kelly defends Garrett Nussmeier struggles

It’s been difficult to ignore how Garrett Nussmeier has struggled, especially coming off a loss. However, Brian Kelly has defended him, insisting that the entire team needs to improve.

“I mean, look. Garrett Nussmeier has got to play better. Every player on offense has got to play better. And then we have to be more consistent on defense. I mean, there’s not one guy that you will point out and go, ‘Well, that was the reason why we lost’. There’s many, many players that have to play their best when their best is needed. We weren’t very good on third down, right. We’ve been a really good third down team. We have to be better on third down, and that’s not just Garrett, you know. We’ve got to get open. Our coaches got to get our guys in a position where they can make some plays. And, look, you saw it. We struggled with completing the deep ball, where they did very very well completing the deep ball,” Kelly said.

“I mean, the quarterback is going to get micro-managed when you lose games. I get that. Look, all I can tell you is, you know, he’s healthy. And, you know, again, I think he would tell you, just like Tyree Adams would tell you, just like Chris Hilton would tell you, Bauer Sharp would tell you. We need to play better and more consistent on the offensive side of the ball.”

Garrett Nussmeier and LSU have a bye week to hit the reset button and get healthy now. After that, they return to action on October 11th, hosting South Carolina.