"He did not play very well" - Brian Kelly minces no words on Garrett Nussmeier's 2024 season while setting bold expectations for the LSU star

Garret Nussmeier is the key to the LSU Tigers' aspirations in the upcoming 2025 season. The signal caller is called to be the leader of the team, as they chase that ever elusive invitation to the College Football Playoff (CFP). It's not for nothing that the signal-caller is currently second in the odds to win this year's Heisman Trophy.

He has odds of +850 according to BetMGM, which is pretty close to the favorite: Arch Manning. The Texas Longhorns' quarterback has odds of +600.

However, if someone believes in the abilities of Nussmeier, it is his coach, Brian Kelly. In an appearance this Tuesday on "ESPN College Football," Kelly favored Nussmeier over Manning as the best quarterback in the SEC:

"Nussmeier's seen it. He knows what he's going to get. There's a confidence that he'll bring to each and every game that, through experience, maybe even through some scar tissue, that's going to allow him to be, I believe, the best quarterback.

"Now Manning is extremely talented, but he's got to go do it ... I'll take the guy that's been in the SEC and seen what it looks like." (32:25)

For reference, Manning has been in the SEC for two seasons now, but it's clear that Nussmeier has far more experience as a starter in the conference. Nussmeier has been with the Tigers for four seasons and has started 13 games. In contrast, Manning has been with Texas for two years and has only started in two games.

Kelly would be the first to admit that Nussmeier has faltered at times, but he also knows that those mistakes have made him a better player:

"You gotta go through those tough times to come out on the other end of it. You know we lost three games in a row, and look, he did not play very well. He turned the football over.

"We were up at half by two scores against (Texas) A&M, and that game flipped because we made some poor decisions, and so I think you gotta live through it. He played extremely well the last three games." (33:30)

Brian Kelly is referring to the three straight games LSU lost toward the end of the season against Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida. Nonetheless, they were able to bounce back in their last three games with victories over Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and at the Texas Bowl against Baylor.

LSU's offensive coordinator Joe Sloan on Garrett Nussmeier's improvement this offseason

Another person who has seen Nussmeier's development up close is LSU's offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Speaking during spring camp, Sloan said the following about the quarterback's development:

"This offseason, he's been able to be a little bit different because now he's going back and when he's studying, he's not just studying his practice tape or maybe our tape and what could happen. He's looking at specifically some stuff that he needs to improve on," LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan said during Spring Camp.

"He's been really intentional. I think really some of our staff did a great job of breaking some different things down for him so he could really see some individual things and he could take back control of those situations."

In 2024, Nussmeier threw for 4,052 passing yards, with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His QBR was 80.0, which ranked 10th in the nation. The only big problem with his game was his rushing game, where he recorded -38 yards.