By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
Garrett Nussmeier doesn't have to be Jayden Daniels for LSU's offense to reach close to the same stratospheric heights of 2023, he only needs to be the best version of Garrett Nussmeier....which we witnessed just a few months ago when Nuss ran over Wisconsin, throwing 395 passing yards, 31 completions, and 3 TD passes.
We are already aware he's a strong leader and locker room presence, we already know, at his worst, Nuss is going to be an above average signal caller for the Sloan / Hankton offensive axis; At his best, LSU are winning a championship and #13 is locked into Heisman candidacy.........but what we're really wondering?
Will Nuss be able to light up the SEC right out of the gates as an assured, aggressive, ultimately unstoppable purveyor of Tiger victory?
Or could Nuss take a season to establish himself, much like Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels....the last two Tiger Heisman winners???
I feel Nuss could actually streamline the process that took Burrow & Daniels one full season to weather.....
Sounds crazy, right?
However, if you look at one major factor working in his favor, you can't look away from the palpable truth:
Nuss isn't transferring to LSU, he doesn't have to familiarize himself with his teammates, coaches, coordinators, new surroundings, new school, etc....Nuss is already home in Louisiana.
Instead of needing time to settle in, Nuss has been working patiently on the sidelines for this moment, an agonizing endurance test as he was forced to wait like a barely caged pit bull, licking his chops for a chance....now it's his time.....
Sitting on the bench for three seasons will destroy even the most reality hardened QBs....but maybe, unlike the others, Nuss has actually escalated his readiness because of the length of time he had to wait, as well as the lessons he learned....watching on as Myles Brennan, Walker Howard, among others fell by the wayside as he ran down his dream.
He's seen how you win a Heisman Trophy firsthand, he's seen how you compete for an SEC title, he's witnessed Jayden Daniels' clutch greatness and Myles Brennan's overhyped disappointment and faded departure from the game....he looked on as the 5 star freshman QB (who many believed would steal his trajectory and push him out of LSU) ended up transferring to Ole Miss.
Throughout it all, one twist, turn or bend in the wild road after another, Garrett's confidence in himself and his will to persevere always remained the same...whether he was starting, thrown into a game as a backup, or standing on the sidelines, he was always "Nuss".
Though the future starting QB job was never guaranteed for Nuss, it somehow always felt destined.
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
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