LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier regains his form after battling injury

LSU starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been battling through a torso injury since fall camp, but he’s making big strides towards being healthy.

If his showing in LSU’s 46-point win over Southeastern in Week 4 was any indication, LSU’s QB1 is clearly as healthy as he’s been all season.

Nussmeier didn’t look like the same quarterback who passed for the second-most yards in a single season in program history just one year ago, and after the Week 3 win over Florida, LSU head coach Brian Kelly told reporters Nussmeier had been battling through a torso injury dating back to fall camp.

It explained why the Tigers had not opened up the vertical passing game and why, at times across the 3-0 start, Nussmeier missed throws he normally made in his sleep.

Then came Saturday’s Week 4 in-state matchup with Southeastern.

Kelly said Nussmeier had his best week of practice this season, and his play on the field backed it up.

For the first time, Nussmeier worked in deep balls, big throws over the middle of the field, and even scrambled multiple times – including quarterback sneaks, one which led to a touchdown.

“Tonight we felt we moved in the right direction from an offensive perspective,” Kelly said after Saturday’s win.

“Outside the first three-and-out, our offense was what it should be,” Kelly said. “Extremely efficient.”

Following a punt on the opening drive, LSU scored touchdowns on each of the team’s next eight possessions on offense.

Six of those came from Nussmeier and the first-team offense, a group that exited the 56-10 win over Southeastern after the first drive in the second half.

“What you are looking for is a dominant performance in the first half, and we got that,” Kelly said.

As for Nussmeier, the final stat line had a bit of it all.

He finished 25-for-31 passing for 273 yards and 3 touchdowns on a night when the wide receivers dropped four catchable passes.

The stats coupled with the film showed a different Nussmeier than fans had seen in LSU’s first three games, which Kelly chalked up to his starting quarterback inching closer and closer to being healthy again.

To drive home the reality of his progress on the injury front: Nussmeier’s work in the ground game.

The pocket passer took off multiple times to pick up yards with his legs, and the highlight moment came on a career-long 26-yard run for a first down. His rushing touchdown came on a quarterback sneak at the goal line.

By the time he handed the ball to backup quarterback Michael Van Buren, Nussmeier and LSU’s offense had proven the sparks from 2024’s passing game were still there for the Tigers despite a slow start out of the gates this season.

“You look at the efficiency in which he threw the football, targeting the football, seeing the field … You could see there was a higher level of comfort in terms of him throwing, and then certainly running the football as well,” Kelly said.

“We’re not saying we beat the No. 1 team in the country, but it still requires the technical development that we hadn’t seen. And now that he’s healthy, he’s able to do that more.”

“I’m getting better,” Nussmeier said when asked about battling through injury the past month.

Just as quickly as he scrambled out of the pocket for the longest rush of his LSU career, Nussmeier pivoted away from any worry on the injury that hampered him across the opening weeks of the season and put the focus on strides made by the offense in a 56-point showing.

“This week was big about trying to find our rhythm and getting in stride heading into SEC play,” he said.

“It looked like we were out there having fun.”