A new quarterback takes over for the LSU Tigers following Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels’ departure to the NFL as a presumptive first-round pick.
Expected to step in his place is redshirt sophomore Garrett Nussmeier, who has some high expectations for the team going into the 2024 season.
Garrett Nussmeier’s Expectations for the LSU Tigers in 2024
Despite the offense firing on all cylinders, the Tigers finished the season with a 10-3 record, including a 35-31 win over the Wisconsin Badgers in the ReliaQuest Bowl. This would have been seen as a successful season for most college football teams. For Nussmeier, he doesn’t quite see things the same way.
“I think as an entire team, we feel like 10 wins isn’t good enough anymore. We are tired of being good, because good isn’t good enough,” Nussmeier said on The Bengal Tiger podcast.
Since winning the national title in 2019, the Tigers have been unable to get to the College Football Playoff. Improvement has been made from the 5-5 season in 2020 to winning 10 games in each of the last two years with Brian Kelly as head coach.
Nussmeier takes the reigns after being a backup at LSU for three years. He has thrown for 1,720 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Now that he is in the driver’s seat as the starting quarterback in spring ball, Kelly sees the potential in him.
“I think more than anything else is his development,” Kelly said to On3’s J.D. PicKell on The Hard Count. “This is still a young man that is going to get better over time. He’s going to get all the reps that he hasn’t gotten. And we’ve saw glimpses of Garrett Nussmeier with very few reps.”
“I think all of us, collectively, really like what we saw. So, what I think what’s exciting for me is — a guy that’s really going to get a lot of the reps and is going to get better and better.”
The skill set difference between Nussmeier and Daniels is very apparent, as Nussmeier is more of a pocket passer, while Daniels can use his legs to make plays. What helps Nussmeier is that he has been on the field multiple times throughout the last three seasons and knows the offensive system well enough to succeed.
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The expectations for Nussmeier and the LSU Tigers are to make the College Football Playoff with it expanding to 12 teams; that much is clear.
There could be some challenges with the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners joining the SEC this year, but Alabama is going through a coaching change, which could open the door for the Tigers to take the conference.
The Tigers want more than that though, and Nussmeier will be the key to the school’s success in 2024.
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