It wasn’t that Brian Kelly sweated through the end of the second transfer portal window. He thought LSU had put itself in a good position to keep Garrett Nussmeier. But quarterbacks transfer so often these days that he celebrated when Nussmeier stayed at LSU.
“That was kind of like, for me as a head coach, one of the biggest days given all the news about quarterbacks transferring,” Kelly said in an interview this week with The Advocate.
Nussmeier, a redshirt sophomore, would have been one of the most sought-after quarterbacks on the open market. He has a strong arm, confidence and room to develop. He could have realistically started this fall for another team, or waited to play at his dream school.
He chose the latter, and now LSU has a luxury in modern college football: stability at quarterback. The Tigers have two players capable of starting as they try to contend for a championship, then a clear line of succession from senior Jayden Daniels to Nussmeier. Daniels will start this season, and Nussmeier has two more years after he leaves. Beyond that, freshman Rickie Collins is developing in the wings. Four-star Colin Hurley comes in the 2024 class.
Retaining Nussmeier was crucial as Kelly rebuilds LSU. He wants consistency, and that requires keeping players and developing them over time, not digging through the transfer portal every year to patch holes. Kelly has said the program will be stable once the Tigers only need a handful of transfers annually. Then, he said, they have the “chance to build it like Alabama and Georgia have built it.”
“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be in that same conversation,” Kelly said. “These are the breadcrumbs toward that when you get a Daniels and a Nussmeier in a back-to-back situation. Those are the harbingers of what consistency looks like.”
It will take at least one more recruiting cycle for LSU to fully replenish the roster, but it doesn’t have to look for a transfer quarterback. Kelly joked about throwing a party after Nussmeier decided not to enter the transfer portal. Only a few weeks earlier, he had seen Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner head to Alabama.
“Now he (Nussmeier) couldn’t go to Alabama because of SEC rules,” Kelly said, referencing a conference rule that prohibits a player from entering the portal after Feb. 1 and playing right away at another SEC school. “But if the quarterback at Notre Dame was going to Alabama, Nussmeier would’ve got two times that, in my opinion.”
Asked what he meant, Kelly said: “I just think Nussmeier is that much better.”
Nussmeier, a former top 100 recruit, showed his enticing potential near the end of the season. He scrambled around and chucked passes downfield for 294 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in the Southeastern Conference title game against Georgia. He then threw for 173 yards, two touchdowns and a pick while rotating with Daniels in the Citrus Bowl.
Conversations with Nussmeier about his future started back in December before the bowl game. Kelly said LSU told him he would get first-team reps in the spring and the staff would do everything it could to help him improve. He stayed through the first transfer portal window while freshman Walker Howard transferred to Ole Miss.
“We’re going to get you better, and you’re going to trust us because we’re going to back up what we say,” Kelly said. “When he was able to look at that and address all that — he wants to be the starter, but he wants to be at a place where he trusts the coaches (and) he can develop. In the worst case scenario, he’s ready to step-in and lead this team. If it doesn’t happen this year, he’s got two more years.”
The first-teams reps were partly out of necessity. LSU had seven healthy scholarship offensive linemen this spring, so thin it moved two walk-on defensive linemen for more depth. Nussmeier wouldn’t have been set up for success behind the patchwork line. But Kelly also wanted to back up what he often said about having an open mind at the position.
By the end of spring ball, Kelly said Nussmeier received “close to 50%” of the first-team reps. He played well with them, simultaneously pushing Daniels to get better. Kelly thought the distribution created healthy competition. Neither of them can get complacent.
“If Jayden Daniels takes the victory lap through the summer and focuses on NIL and doesn’t work out, he’s got a problem,” Kelly said. “The problem is Nussmeier.”
Come preseason camp and the regular season, Kelly said Nussmeier will continue to receive some first-team reps. He did not specify how many, but Kelly in the past has divided practice reps more than most coaches, giving about 60% to the starter and 40% to the backup. He wants both of them ready.
Daniels is still the expected starter with multiple years of experience who led LSU to 10 wins last season. He earned the job. But with Nussmeier behind him, LSU has another trusted option. He can keep the team afloat in case of an injury. And he can take over in the future.
“That’s a good situation to have in college football to have two guys that are pushing each other and that you know at the end of the day whoever lines up for you, you’ve got a championship quarterback,” Kelly said. “That’s the party that I was talking about.”
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