Skip to main content
LSU

Joel Klatt leaves Garrett Nussmeier outside top five QBs for 2025

On3 imageby: Matthew Brune05/20/25MatthewBrune_
NCAA Football: Vanderbilt at Louisiana State
Nov 23, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) signals a first down against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

As debates continue to press on throughout the offseason about who the best quarterbacks in the country will be for 2025, Garrett Nussmeier’s place in the pecking order continues to fluctuate. Some have LSU’s starting quarterback as one of the top two or three passers in the country, while others remain skeptical and leave him outside the top five.

Nussmeier ended last season with 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns on 64.2 completion percentage despite significant limitations to the Tigers’ offense and now in year two, he’s expected to be even better. However, Joel Klatt did not have Nussmeier in his top five quarterbacks for next season — ranking him No. 6 in his top ten. Here is what he said about the Tigers’ quarterback on his podcast.

“Garrett Nussmeier might not be the most athletic guy out there, but he’s a big quarterback who threw for over 4,000 yards last year. He’s an absolute gunslinger—for better and worse. He’ll take some chances, but in Brian Kelly’s offense, you know he’s going to put up numbers.

I think LSU is going to be a really good football team this year. In fact, this could be Brian Kelly’s best LSU team yet. That said, Nussmeier has to cut down on turnovers—he had 15 last year. For a traditional pocket passer who isn’t going to bail you out with his legs, minimizing turnovers is critical.

If you’re not mobile, you can’t afford to turn the ball over, because you’re not going to compensate for mistakes the way more athletic quarterbacks can. That’s something he needs to clean up.

The good news is, he’ll have weapons. LSU’s wide receiver room has been significantly upgraded through the portal. I really think Nussmeier is going to be terrific.”

Klatt left a glowing review of Nussmeier overall, but left perhaps the Heisman favorite outside of his top five. Here is his full top 10.

10. Carson Beck, Miami

9. Luke Altmyer, Illinois

8. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

7. D.J. Lagway, Florida

6. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

5. Drew Allar, Penn State

4. Sam Leavitt, Arizona State

3. John Mateer, Oklahoma

2. Arch Manning, Texas

1. Cade Klubnik, Clemson

LSU faces four of the other nine quarterbacks on this list with Klubnik week 1, Lagway week 3, Sellers week 6, and Mateer at the end of the regular season. The SEC has a strong group of quarterbacks this year with plenty to prove, but Nussmeier has the production that most of these quarterbacks do not have at this level. It will be intriguing to see if he can put it all together and if the new weapons on the perimeter further help him flourish in this senior season.

You may also like