LSU READYING ANOTHER OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT IN 2025???
- Lonn Phillips Sullivan
- Jun 5
- 6 min read
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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
FOLLOW @LonnPhillips
Approaching yet another year with the same starting QB (for the 2nd time out of his 4 seasons at the helm), LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly and QBs Coach / Co-OC Joe Sloan (also in his 4th year) will look to maintain their track record of hitting paydirt with multi-year starting QBs at LSU:
The last time Kelly started a QB for consecutive seasons, his signal caller won the Heisman, on his way to becoming the 2024 NFL Draft's 2nd overall pick...
So, with Garrett Nussmeier entering Year 2 as the program's all time leading debutant passer, standing as the only returning collegiate quarterback holding a 4,000 yard passing season, leading a roster now replete with offensive weapons everywhere you look, as well as Cortez Hankton's deepest Tiger receiving corps, will we bear witness to yet another LSU offensive juggernaut???
Let's not get too caught up in the talent on paper, and instead focus on how Joe Sloan's offense is currently preparing to utilize & maximize each weapon, a prime failure from 2024's dysfunctional unit.
Nothing we witness during a Spring practice or film study will tell us what kind of a season Nussmeier will produce in 2025, but if he can learn from his years of prior experience on both sides of the winning & losing coin, properly season his NFL arm & take advantage of LSU's upgraded receiving options, then the history of 2nd year starting QB imperialism (Russell, Mettenberger, Burrow, and Daniels) may just repeat itself....culminating in the NussBus rolling back to Baton Rouge next January carrying some hardware...
That said, you have to feel excited heading into Nussmeier's Year 2, with so much starting to fall into place:
His father Doug won a Super Bowl during the offseason as part of the Eagles staff, and of course, Nuss was there to witness the moment inside the New Orleans Superdome.
Now, in a bizarre moment of serendipity, Coach Nuss was hired inside the state with the Saints. Due to Doug missing large chunks of Nussmeier's high school and collegiate career, Coach Nuss will be doing everything he can to catch some games during his son's last LSU stand...
The truth is, whether it's fair or not, the story of LSU's success or failure in 2025 will ultimately come down to the Lake Charles Slinger's growth at the position, his decision making, as well as whether Nuss will be able to elevate his supporting cast.........not only aiming to unleash his steambreathing cavalcade of skill position thoroughbreds, but orchestrating the viability, reliability, and cohesion of his mostly new offensive line.
Brad Davis' offensive line is without a doubt one of two position groups I am most concerned about....at least until Davis finds the right combination, and then we see how they gel on the field.
Playing against Clemson's stout rotation of interior defensive linemen right out of the gates in week 1 isn't just an ultimate test for Davis' offensive line, it will tell us everything we need to know about the readiness, physicality, and depth up front.
However, if LSU's 2025 offense can steadily run the football, maybe even control games, then we are talking about an offensive unit that can properly take flight...alleviating the burden & nonstop pressure from Nussmeier's shoulders.
Will the offensive axis of Joe Sloan & Cortez Hankton, working alongside TEs Coach / running game guru Alex Atkins, be able to sustain some kind of rushing attack for Nussmeier to lean on???
In the 1-2 backfield punch of Caden Durham's explosive lightning and Kaleb Jackson's pummeling thunder, backed by true freshman super-weapon Harlem Berry, led by a fantastic staff upgrade in Alex Atkins, LSU might just possess a winning formula on the ground.
Specifically when it concerns the dual threat usage of X factor tight end Bauer Sharp and certified red zone menace Trey'Dez Green; These recent play packages from Sloan always seem to set up a tight end blocking, releasing, then slipping away into space from the trenches for an easy catch and run.
The play selection is varying beautifully so far, from misdirection run schemes that really catapult Durham's searing "take it to the limit" cutting pace, quick fire slants or inside route combinations (taking advantage of their receiving corps' YAC capabilities).....Sure, we aren't getting to see everything they're doing, and of course, it is a long time before the season kicks off, although, what we've seen thus far is very promising.
Adding new wrinkles like backup QB Jujuan Johnson taking on wildcat responsibilities or WR / return man Zavion Thomas getting snaps in a Percy Harvin-esque backfield role (a position where he scored a rare opening red zone TD last year vs UCLA)....
....maybe, just maybe, we are beginning to see the pieces come together...
All of these new offensive directions should help alleviate the nonstop pressure on Nussmeier's throwing arm from last fall, where he placed 2nd in the country with 525 passing attempts. Of course Sloan / Hankton will aim for balance, yet the fact remains:
LSU will start a generational passing talent at quarterback, entering Year 5 on campus, while the roster is full of high octane receiving weapons that have started to bring out the best in Nussmeier.
On paper, this Joe Sloan / Cortez Hankton offense should definitely be capable of throwing the ball all over the yard on opponents....
Athletic turbulence & nocturnal speed is everywhere you look around Hankton's WRU '25 room, sporting burners Barion Brown, Zavion Thomas, and 2024's leading Tiger receiver Aaron Anderson, alongside former track champion & downfield target man Chris Hilton Jr, 2024 week 1 starter Kyle Parker, former 10 TD wide out Nic Anderson, second year stud Kylan Billiot, freshman star TaRon Francis, and Louisiana native transfer Destyn Hill arriving after a few years at Florida State, this room contains almost every single receiving profile one could want....and we aren't even counting Trey'Dez Green's hybrid TE/WR majesty, the passing game output from Bauer Sharp (who led Oklahoma in receiving last fall) or Frank Wilson's running backs.
Make no mistake, without a single drop of hyperbole or drinking of the purple & gold Kool-Aid, I believe there is every possibility & opportunity for a juggernaut 2025 offense under Joe Sloan & Cortez Hankton....
Both entering their own 4th seasons at LSU, the continuity is there, the familiarity is, too, plus, LSU's new offensive transfers assimilated seamlessly into the roster, some even becoming vocal leaders.
Really, the more you look at the personnel available, all the coaching pieces maintaining years on the sidelines together (including a season with one of the most explosive & prolific offenses in NCAA history), there is no excuse for a subpar offensive season in Baton Rouge....in fact, anything less than a top 5 all time program offense would be down right treasonous.
Greatness, perhaps even something legendary is more than possible:
Within a disjointed, telegraphed, downfield allergic 2024 offense that fell to 4 opponents, even choking vs Lincoln Riley's disastrous USC team that lost 6 games and Billy Napier's 4-5 Florida, an offense that could not sustain a rushing attack to save their season or their lives, QB Garrett Nussmeier still racked up 4,052 yards passing, 29 TDs, two LSU receivers racked up 800+ yards, dual threat backfield kingpin Caden Durham missed multiple games but found a way to amass over 1,000 total combined yards on the ground and through the air, Hilton Jr and Trey'Dez Green each caught 4 TDs during limited involvement across the final few games....
....and now, signing wide ranging additional reinforcements, implementing a more expansive play setup, and gaining another year of experience all around, from coaches to quarterback, you have to feel the possibilities could be something special....
.....they have to be....
.....they simply must be........
But why, bro??? WHY ALL THE HIGH EXPECTATIONS???
To that, I say "WHY THE HELL NOT???"
Juggernaut offenses are becoming part & parcel of LSU's DNA, from 2019 Burrow to 2023 Daniels, and now Nussmeier, a QB who's seen how the sausage is made, now has every chance to follow directly in their footsteps.
WHY WOULDN'T JUGGERNAUT LIGHTNING STRIKE THRICE IN BATON ROUGE???
If LSU can navigate their O-line concerns & questions over the running game, Sloan answers his playcalling doubters, and Nussmeier can find a transcendent chemistry with his cavalcade of weapons, for the 3rd time in 6 years LSU's offense possess all the tools to be the nation's most explosive, dynamic and endlessly entertaining attack.
IMPORTANT STATS
-Averaged 6.3 offensive penalties per game, almost all coming from the offensive line
-30.5 points per game (47th ranked)
-431.5 yards per game
-Nussmeier averaged 7.7 Yards Per Attempt and just 12.0 Yards Per Catch, illustrating LSU's Yards After Catch problem last year....mostly due to playcalling, rather than personnel deficiencies.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2025 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
I believe it is all there. The one doubt Ivhave is Sloan. He has done a good job, but he sometimes seems reluctant to really improvise when he sees the defense is on to us or has found a mismatch. I hope this is the year he unleashes all of our talent.