The pressure is on for LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. He’s made a gutsy move, returning to Baton Rouge and proving his loyalty. Now, it’s time for his performance to back it up. Unfortunately, his stats from last season don’t exactly inspire confidence. Even an SEC insider, while singing Brian Kelly’s praises, seems hesitant to fully buy into Nussmeier. What’s the holdup? His struggles last year. A 50% completion rate with three interceptions isn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard. Simply put, Nussmeier looked shaky and uncomfortable.

Can Nussmeier be blamed completely? Well, not at all. Maybe HC Kelly had pinned too much hope on his offense after the Jayden Daniels era. The LSU former QB led the Tigers’ total offense with 386.8 yards per game. Sadly, the Daniels effect did not continue. As college football writer Matt Hayes landed a reality check, “Brian Kelly began last season saying he thought the offense would be better than it was the year before, and that offense the year before with Jayden Daniels was mighty special man…They struggled to protect Garrett.” Veteran offensive linemen Garrett Dellinger and Miles Frazier struggled with consistency. But sadly, Nussmeier is in the bad books now.

On the Locked on Vols podcast, SEC insider Chris Phillips shared his take on Kelly’s QB. He went like, “I go to a guy that I’m gonna admit to you Eric, it’s probably going to be my number one, and if he plays like he did it times last year, I think certainly will fit the overrated bill and that is Garrett Nussmeier.”

Nussmeier ended his first season as the starter, tossing for 3,735 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He completed over 63% of his throws. Now that’s not extraordinary to celebrate, of course. This is followed by Nuss’ talents in turnovers. Crisis looms there too. The QB has lost possession over 20 times in 27 games. So, there are a lot of areas that need maturation. Maybe that’s why Phillips said, “He can be one of the best quarterbacks in college football, certainly the SEC. But if he’s turning the football over like we saw last year if he hasn’t matured…he’s going to be a guy based off of when I say overrated.” Is HC Kelly fortifying the fortress for his QB? Sadly, he is busy with his new gamble.   

How Brian Kelly is trying to reshape LSU’s NIL future

The LSU HC has come up with a big move when it comes to the NIL. He spearheaded a fundraiser designed to generate money for the football team. As per the NCAA rules, head coaches cannot make any contribution to NIL collectives directly. So, Kelly cooked up a plan by donating his $1 million to the Tiger Athletic Foundation, the private fundraising arm of LSU sports.

Last year in December, Kelly and his wife Paqui announced the “Kelly Family Million Dollar Match Challenge.” This comes with every dollar of public support to NIL via the Bayou Traditions Football Fund today through Feb. 5, 2025, going to the Tigers’ Excellence Fund. Well, looks like a bigger surprise awaited Nussmeier and Co. An anonymous donor gifted an additional $1 million to the collective.

Now that Garrett Nussmeier has made a U-turn to Baton Rouge, he is likely to benefit from this NIL initiative. Coming in at $3.6 million is LSU’s starting at No.2 in the Tigers squad and No.8 in the country. Brian Kelly’s QB is already a popular face in the EA Sports College Football 25. However, in order to come off with flying colors, sadly, Kelly’s NIL move won’t be enough. Nuss will have to get rid of his “overrated” tag at first.