Garrett Nussmeier staying at LSU as Transfer Portal closes

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier did not enter his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal and will remain with the Tigers for the 2023 season, he tells The Bengal Tiger staff.

Nussmeier, who will be a redshirt sophomore, will compete with returning starter Jayden Daniels this fall.

With Daniels in his final year of eligibility, Nussmeier – who has three years of eligibility remaining – is the heir apparent to take over as the next starting quarterback in Baton Rouge. Nussmeier has remained firm with his decision to stay with the Tigers across the past two seasons, and he was one of the lead recruiters behind the scenes for LSU in high school after the Tigers became his first college scholarship offer.

Now, Nussmeier’s decision to remain at LSU gives the Tigers arguably one of the best 1-2 punches at quarterback in not just the Southeastern Conference, but all of college football.

Nussmeier made a big splash to close out 2022 season

Nussmeier appeared in four games during the 2020 season, sitting behind former LSU quarterback Max Johnson as he settled into his first year of college.

After finishing his freshman year with 329 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, Nussmeier stepped into a bigger role this past season.

Following Johnson’s decision to transfer to Texas A&M, first-year head coach Brian Kelly brought in Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels. It gave the Tigers four quarterbacks in Daniels, Nussmeier, Myles Brennan and freshman Walker Howard. Just before the season, Brennan announced his decision to step away from football after back-to-back season-ending injuries.

Daniels won the starting job in 2022, and he helped lead LSU to an SEC West title by totaling 2,913 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and three interceptions to go with a team-best 885 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.

Nussmeier battled to win the starting job, and when Daniels was injured in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia, Nussmeier stepped in and passed for a career-best 294 yards and two touchdowns. He flashed an impressive deep ball and looked far from the young gunslinger who had tossed a pair of interceptions in garbage time of a blowout win over Southern in Week 2 of the season.

When the Citrus Bowl arrived, Kelly gave reps to both Daniels and Nussmeier. Daniels finished the game with 139 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts, adding 67 yards on six carries while also catching a touchdown pass. Nussmeier stepped into the rotation and passed for 173 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 15 attempts. Both quarterbacks hit on 70-plus percent of their attempts in the 63-7 blowout win over Purdue.

Soon after the bowl win, freshman quarterback Walker Howard entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and landed at Ole Miss. Nussmeier passed up the chance to enter the portal during the first window that ran from December to January, then again passed on the portal window in April.

LSU will move into the 2023 season with three scholarship quarterbacks in Daniels, Nussmeier and freshman Rickie Collins.

LSU quarterback competition continues ahead of 2023 season

While Kelly hasn’t backed away from the reality that Daniels is the team’s returning starter, he has also publicly stated Nussmeier will be given a chance to win more playing time – and potentially a starting nod.

“We have two starters. Both can win in the SEC. Both have played at the highest level,” Kelly said. “We’re blessed and fortunate.”

Daniels and Nussmeier were both available for spring practices in March and April, and Kelly said both made strides in areas they needed to focus on this offseason.

“You know, both of them have a list of things that they want to work on,” Kelly said. “Jayden’s been pushing the ball down the field trying to really work on quick identification and one-on-one matchups down the field. 

“Garrett is just, you know, disciplined in progression reads. So, each one of them has some things that (LSU quarterbacks coach) Joe Sloan has laid out for them and in terms of what they want them to work on specifically, and that’s kind of how we’ve scripted them as well. And they’ve done a really good job of working on those things.”