Loyal to the Tiger Brand

By Jim Gazzolo

Joe Burrow turned his second year as the LSU starting quarterback into a Heisman Trophy.

Jayden Daniels did the same thing. 

Now it’s Garrett Nussmeier’s turn.

There is a difference, however.

Both Burrow and Daniels were hired guns, transferring to LSU in hopes of playing.

Burrow came from Ohio State looking for a starting job. Daniels moved from Arizona in hopes of gaining more interest by competing at a higher level.

Nussmeier’s novelty is that he didn’t transfer to LSU. He was born in Lake Charles, grew up in Louisiana, and always wanted to play for the Tigers. So, when he wasn’t playing, Nussmeier stayed at LSU and waited his turn, with no promise it would ever come.

“There’s obviously temptation,” Nussmeier said a year ago about transferring. “I love playing the game of football. So obviously I wanted to be playing on Saturdays. But what kept me to stay was that I felt like when I was making my decision out of high school where to go to school, I felt like there was a lot of prayer involved.”

The move paid off for both Nussmeier and LSU.

In his first season as a starter, Nussmeier threw for 4,052 yards, 29 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a 64.2% completion percentage. That left the QB with another choice.

He could have gone to the NFL, maybe even been picked by the New Orleans Saints and played for his father, who is the team’s offensive coordinator. That would have kept the Louisiana star in his home state for his professional start.

Once again, Nussmeier stayed at LSU.

“Coming back, I feel like I had unfinished business,” Nussmeier told The Advocate. “I feel like the product that I put on tape wasn't what I wanted it to be. And it's not what I wanted to leave.”

Now he has a chance to follow in the footsteps of Burrow and Daniels. He is considered one of the preseason favorites to win his own Heisman. A big final year, and he will also be a high draft pick and could still end up in New Orleans playing for his father.

He also says he learned a lot from last season.

“Being able to watch an entire season, correct mistakes and to go back and see my weaknesses and see things that I need to improve on, find the tells that I may have been giving to defenses and things like that. It’s a totally different ballgame to have a full season to be able to watch and correct,” Nussmeier said Monday at SEC Media Days in Atlanta. “Also, just from my personal growth as a player and having those experiences under my belt, I’ve seen a lot.”

He also proclaimed the SEC is still the best conference in college football despite going just 1-5 last year against the Big Ten in the playoffs.

“It is the toughest conference in all of football, and I think that’s pretty evident. I don’t really care what anyone says about it,” Nussmeier said. “To play an SEC schedule week in and week out, you don’t get any rest.”

Then again, the Tigers aren’t scheduled to play Texas, Georgia or Tennessee, three of the SEC’s top teams, unless they see one of them in the title game. 

While a third Heisman would be great for LSU, what the program really needs is to win 10 games and make the postseason. The Tigers haven’t been in title talk since 2019 and seem further away from those discussions with each passing year.

That makes this a big year for LSU and Nussmeier, who, if he genuinely wants to be a legend in Louisiana, must guide the Tigers back to the Promised Land. 

Nussmeier, along with two former McNeese head coaches, Frank Wilson and Lance Guidry, will be in Lake Charles Saturday, July 19, to meet fans and sign autographs. They will be at PJs Cafe, 5665 Nelson Road, between noon and 2 p.m.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS Lake Charles.