Tag: Garrett Nussmeier

Kayshon Boutte cracks Bleacher Report’s list of top big-play threats

Primed for a big season, Kayshon Boutte ranks No. 5 on the big-play threat list.

LSU’s Kayshon Boutte was one of the most dominant receivers in college football last season, catching 38 passes for 309 yards and nine touchdowns.

He played only six games because of injury and still led LSU in touchdowns with nine. Boutte averaged 13.3 yards per catch in 2021, and if it were not for the injury, Boutte would have put up even better numbers and been one of the top receivers in the country.

Heading into 2022, he’s poised for a big season. Bleacher Report ranked college football’s top big-play threats, and Boutte came in at No. 5 on the list.

Here’s what Morgan Moriarty had to say about Boutte.

LSU’s Kayshon Boutte was on this list last year, but his 2021 season didn’t pan out as expected because he suffered an ankle injury against Kentucky in early October.

Before the injury, Boutte was on pace to have an even bigger season than he did as a true freshman, when he averaged 16.3 yards per catch.

In 2021, Boutte had 38 catches for 509 yards, averaging 13.4 yards and scoring nine touchdowns. Even though he played just six games, he still led the Tigers in receiving yards and touchdowns.

And Boutte averaged 21.2 yards on 10 catches and scored three touchdowns in the two games before his injury.

According to Pro Football Focus, he’s averaged 2.5 yards per route run with a 134.3 passer rating when targeted against press coverage. Since 2020, those figures rank sixth and second among Power Five wideouts.

LSU will have a few options at quarterback next season, including veteran Myles Brennan and youngsters Garrett Nussmeier and Walker Howard. As long as Boutte doesn’t have any lingering issues from his injury, he should again be LSU’s No. 1 receiver.

Boutte caught 45 passes for 735 yards in ten games as a freshman on 16.3 yards per catch. He also caught five touchdowns. In two years at LSU, the receiver has caught 83 balls for 1,244 and 14 touchdowns. Boutte did all this on 15 yards per catch.

Hopefully coming into next season healthy, he should put up big numbers for LSU. However, the Tigers do have to figure out the quarterback situation.

Veteran Myles Brennan is back along with Garrett Nussmeier, who played in four games last year as a freshman. Also, LSU has five-star quarterback Walker Howard looking to take over the quarterback position.

Regardless of who wins the job, though, that player will certainly target Boutte, LSU’s No. 1 receiver, quite a bit.

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LSU’s coaches discuss outlook on quarterbacks heading into 2022

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and quarterback coach Joe Sloan discuss the approach at the game’s most important position during spring practice.

Tigers coach Brian Kelly introduced his offensive coaching staff on Thursday in a press conference, and one of the hottest topics of discussion was the quarterback position.

The battle for the starting spot there will certainly be interesting to watch. The early favorite has to be Myles Brennan, the sixth-year quarterback who briefly entered the transfer portal this offseason but ultimately chose to withdraw his name.

Brennan was seen as the heir apparent to Joe Burrow, and he began the 2020 season as the starter. However, his year was cut short with an injury, and he missed the entire 2021 season with a different injury. With him coming back, many see 2022 as his year.

But he won’t be without competition. The Tigers return redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier, who saw some action last season, and they also add five-star true freshman Walker Howard.

LSU’s offensive staff made it clear that it will be very much an open competition when spring practice begins on March 24, with offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock outlining what the staff will be looking for from the quarterback room.

“The different defensive looks, the multiplicity of looks at this level, understanding protections. We ask our quarterback to know how to protect himself and change the protection if he needs to,” Denbrock said, according to Sports Illustrated’s Glen West. “Spring football is going to be a little bit of us figuring out exactly what we can be and what we can become throughout the process of building this offense.

“We haven’t had an opportunity to really be out on the field and work with these guys all that much yet, but it’s coming, which is good. So, we can really gauge where that’s at, and then through giving the quarterbacks the information they need to be successful, give them opportunities within the spring to kind of show who really fits into what we’re best at doing. And, let that competition play its way out and make sure that the best guy is out there giving us the best chance to win.”

Meanwhile, quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan said his focus is on building a relationship with each player and assessing where they’re at and what they need to improve upon.

“I think right now what I’m focused on is the relationships with each one. Making sure they know me and I know them,” Sloan said. “Because that’s where it’s gonna start, that’s gonna be the foundation for helping them develop on the field and off the field. Finding their strengths and weaknesses and making sure they understand that so we can have communication on what can make them the absolute best that they can be.”

Brennan could be considered the favorite given his experience, but based on these sentiments, it seems like the quarterback battle could go beyond spring and into fall camp.

Regardless, the Tigers have talent at the position and should have a much better idea where each player stands when the team can finally get on the field with the new staff when spring practice begins next month.

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Previewing the 2022 roster: How does the quarterback situation look?

With the dust now settled, we begin to breakdown where LSU stands at each position.

Managing a quarterback room in 2022 resembles something more similar to a political art than coaching football.

Only one quarterback can play, and usually, there’s more than one that wants to. This has resulted in a quarterback carousel across the country.

Over the last couple of years, LSU has had a few guys decide to ride that carousel. Most notably, Max Johnson is now at Texas A&M. During the last offseason, TJ Finely transferred to Auburn.

Myles Brennan was in line to ride but opted to return to LSU after Johnson’s transfer and speaking with Kelly.

LSU, for now, is in good shape here. Brennan is a sixth-year player with plenty of arm talent. He waited for this opportunity, and he waited again.

(AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

When Joe Burrow came in 2018, many assumed Brennan would transfer. Some viewed it as a sign that LSU did not believe in Brennan and if he wasn’t ready then, he’d never be.In his three starts in 2020, he looked good in what turned out to be a bad situation. He was shaky in that loss to Mississippi State. He looked like one would expect a quarterback to make when making his first career start. As Brennan got his feet under him and started to settle in, he looked like an SEC quarterback.

Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Behind Brennan, sit Garrett Nussmeier and Walker Howard, two blue-chip recruits.

Eventually, either Nussmeier or Howard will eventually transfer. They’re both talented and after Brennan leaves, one of them will have to win the job.

If It’s Nussmeier, it’s plausible that Howard could stick around and wait it out, but it’s rare to see someone as highly recruited as Howard do that.

Nussmeier got a little time last year and showed his willingness to be a gunslinger, but outside of that, didn’t show much as LSU remained with Johnson under center.

Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser

Quarterbacks are almost impossible to predict. There’s never a sure thing. There have been too many five stars never to be heard of again after signing day. Each year, just look at all the QB’s in the portal that never panned out.

Nobody knows how Nussmeier’s or Howard’s careers will turn out. They could be first-round picks or they could finish their careers in the Sun Belt.

It’ll be interesting to see how hard LSU goes after a quarterback in the 2023 class. Obviously, everyone in college football would like Arch Manning on their team, but if LSU misses out on Manning, do they see it as necessary to get someone else?

One would also think LSU having Howard and Nussmeier is something Manning or any other 2023 signal-caller has to take into account. He’d enter his freshman year as the third-string QB, as opposed to some other spots, where he could have a much easier path to the field.

Last Word

LSU’s QB room is in good shape with a lot of talent, but it remains a possibility to turn volatile in 2023, or sooner if Brennan struggles this fall. There’s plenty of talent here, but it needs to be developed. LSU is one injury away from having less than three scholarship quarterbacks, again.

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Early position outlook: How the LSU QBs break down

This is the position battle to watch in 2022

The quarterback battle for the 2022 season is going to be an interesting one. Joe Sloan joins the staff as the new quarterbacks’ coach after a long tenure as the offensive coordinator and a variety of other roles with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Sloan knows the recruiting landscape in the state of Louisiana and is now tasked with leading the quarterbacks. The Tigers head into next season with three scholarship quarterbacks with Myles Brennan, Garrett Nussmeier, and incoming freshman Walker Howard.

Last season it was Brennan, Nussmeier, and Max Johnson. You can essentially trade Johnson for Howard as the former transferred to Texas A&M, and the latter signed with LSU in the 2022 recruiting class.

Based on Mike Denbrock’s offense over the last four seasons in Cincinnati, it appears that he likes to use mobile quarterbacks. They utilized Desmond Ridder in the passing game and the running game. He finished his Bearcats’ career with 10,239 yards passing and another 2,180 yards rushing. Ridder accounted for 37 touchdowns this year, 30 through the air, six on the ground, and even caught one.

We start with the senior

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NILSU: Three Tigers crack On3’s top 100 rankings for NIL

Three LSU Tigers make On3’s list for NIL evaluation.

The game change for collegiate athletes back on Jul. 1, 2021. This was the day it was announced that they could finally cash in on their name, image, and likeness. Prior to this date, athletes couldn’t make money and maintain their amateur status as NCAA athletes.

Players such as Spencer Rattler launched his own loge, we saw DJ Uiagalelei in Dr. Pepper commercials. Even LSU quarterback Myles Brennan got into the action as he was given a new truck as he would represent the brand of Ford trucks for a local car dealership.

Recently On3 launched their NIL coverage with the top 100 athletes and what they could earn. It was based on their popularity and social media following.

The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

A trio of  LSU Tigers made the list. Starting at No. 49 is LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr that recently declared for the NFL draft.

Details:

  • On3 NIL Evaluation: $181K
  • IG Followers: 151K

Next is the quarterback that removed his name from the transfer portal and will return in 2022, Myles Brennan. He comes in at No. 72.

Details:

  • On3 NIL Evaluation: $144K
  • IG Followers: 86K
  • TikTok Followers: 181
  • Twitter Followers: 22K

Finally, we have another quarterback with freshman Garrett Nussmeier. He completed his first season with the Tigers and saw limited action. He ranks as the No. 84 player on the list.

Details:

  • On3 NIL Evaluation: $128K
  • IG Followers: 33K
  • TikTok Followers: 258K
  • Twitter Followers: 9.3K

The Morning After: What is next for LSU football?

Plenty left to do for Brian Kelly ahead of spring football in a few months.

While many were mocking LSU head coach Brian Kelly over his comments over his accent, the Tigers football team was looking to end the season on a high note. It didn’t happen for them as Kansas State built up a 42-7 lead in the fourth quarter.

During the broadcast, Kelly joined the announcers in the booth for a mid-game interview where he made a comment about his accent. More importantly, he discussed the plans for this team moving forward. The next head coach understands there is ample work to be done. The roster of players that took the field at NRG Stadium will likely look completely different.

Kelly understands that there is more than one way to skin a cat. While recruiting is essential, other teams proved that you can go into the transfer portal to help supplement your team. We look at each area of concern for the LSU Tigers heading into 2022.

Pat’s POV: It’s time to remove eligibility rule during bowl games

I believe it is time to re-think this.

As the Texas Bowl approaches for the LSU Tigers, they find themselves in a precarious position. Taking the field against the Big 12’s Kansas State Wildcats without a scholarship quarterback. But how did we get here?

This began back in the spring when four scholarship quarterbacks battled it out to become the starting quarterback.

  • Myles Brennan, Senior
  • Max Johnson, Sophomore
  • TJ Finley, Sophomore
  • Garrett Nussmeier, Freshman

Following spring football Finley decided it was time to move on to another situation. He likely wasn’t going to see the field with both Brennan and Johnson likely ahead of him so he entered the transfer portal. Finley landed at Auburn where he led them to a victory over Georgia State. He would eventually become the starter for their bowl game with an injury to Bo Nix and his subsequent transfer to Oregon.

Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

With Finley gone, it left Brennan and Johnson to battle it out for the starting role and newcomer Nussmeier as the eventual QB3 on the roster. Prior to the start of fall camp, Brennan suffered an injury to his nonthrowing arm that would require surgery and put him out of action for an indefinite amount of time. It turned out to be a season-ender for the senior quarterback.

Towards the end of the year, Brennan put his name in the transfer portal before opting to return to LSU after a discussion with new head coach Brian Kelly. His injury and the transfer of Finley left the Tigers with just two scholarship quarterbacks to go along with the two walk-ons, Matt O’Dowd and Tavion Faulk. Neither of which was likely to ever see the field.

Johnson would resume duties as the starting quarterback as he did in the final two games of the 2020 regular season. While he started all 12 games for the Tigers, Nussmeier saw action in three games prior to the showdown with Arkansas in the ‘Battle for the Golden Boot’.

After a discussion with Doug Nussmeier, they discussed having Garrett play for an extended amount of time. He took over in the second series and finished out the game. Following that game, it was announced that he would shut it down for the rest of the year leaving LSU with just one scholarship quarterback, Max Johnson.

After leading LSU to a victory over Texas A&M and making the team bowl eligible, Johnson announced he would enter the transfer portal. That left the Tigers and interim head coach Brad Davis without a quarterback. The team requested a waiver from the NCAA to allow Nuss to play and keep his redshirt status.

Under NCAA eligibility rules a player can appear in no more than four games to keep the season from counting towards their eligibility. According to Brody Miller of The Athletic (subscription required), the waiver wasn’t granted and it appears Nussmeier won’t burn that redshirt.

Nussmeier did not receive that waiver, and it was, in turn, up to him if he wanted to play a fifth game and burn a year of eligibility to play in this bowl. Sources say he is not playing Tuesday.

With that being said, I believe it is time to re-evaluate the eligibility rules when it comes to the postseason. The game of college football is changing dramatically from season to season. With players opting out of bowl games such as Damone Clark, Neil Farrell Jr, and Ty Davis-Price among others, younger players have to step up in their place. That is nothing new but what it does is put teams at a competitive disadvantage.

Such as the Nussmeier situation, LSU has zero scholarship quarterbacks for this game. Players can opt-out of games and others can enter the transfer portal. How can we counteract that for teams? They can’t go out and replace these players.

Perhaps the solution is removing the eligibility rules when it comes to bowl games. Not counting them towards the four-game rule might be the best option, and not just because LSU is in dire straights when it comes to their situation.

This is a college football problem, not just an LSU problem.

Depth Chart released for the LSU-Kansas State Texas Bowl game

A look at the depleted two-deep roster for LSU.

Ahead of Tuesday’s bowl game against the Kansas State Wildcats, the LSU Tigers have released their two-deep depth chart for the game. As expected it shows a pretty depleted roster.

The biggest name not seen on the depth chart is starting cornerback Dwight McGlothern. One can expect that he might be moving on from the program. We haven’t heard any injury news on him to think that it might be a health issue.

At quarterback, they have Garrett Nussmeier as the starter with Tavion Faulk as the backup. The thought is that it would be Matt O’Dowd since he was the backup to Max Johnson for the season finale against Texas A&M but all that has changed.

I would still believe that Jontre Kirklin is more likely to play as the wildcat quarterback in this game. If they weren’t granted the waiver for Nussmeier’s redshirt, it will be up to him to make the decision on if he wanted to give up the redshirt year. LSU might also put them as the starter as to not give Kansas State any insight as to how they are planning on attacking the defense.

Darren Evans is expecting to be the starter at cornerback with no McGlothern. The safety tandem of Jay Ward and Todd Harris Jr are listed as the starters. Freshman Sage Ryan is listed as the backup at nickel to Pig Cage.

At linebacker, they won’t have Micah Baskerville and Damone Clark opted out so it will be former Clemson transfer Mike Jones Jr and Greg Penn II.

A full look at the two-deep:

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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

LSU vs KSU: Previewing the quarterback battle for the Texas Bowl

Not much of a quarterback battle

We have officially made it to game week as the Texas Bowl between LSU and Kansas State is set to kick off one week from Tuesday. The battle of two teams that wear purple but they are on different trajectories at this point.

Kansas State has two quarterbacks with starting experience, LSU has none. Myles Brennan started three games a year ago before an injury ended his campaign, he likely is unavailable for this game. Where will the team turn?

While we await the decision on Garrett Nussmeier’s waiver, we look at the quarterback matchup for the Texas Bowl.

Quarterback Comparison

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Breaking down who has the edge in the tale of the tape.

Thompson vs Nussmeier
6-2 Ht 6-2
223 Wt 172
Senior Class Freshman
141 Comp 29
205 Att 57
68.8 Comp % 50.9
1,844 Yards 329
9.0 YPA 5.8
9-4 TD-INT 2-2

Edge: Skylar Thompson

This really wasn’t much of a competition in the quarterback’s tale of the tape. Nussmeier just hasn’t played much and quite frankly the Tigers don’t have much in terms of experience at quarterback with Max Johnson’s transfer to Texas A&M. Thompson hasn’t been healthy but when he is, he can make the Kansas State offense go along with Deuce Vaughn.

It isn’t for certain if Nuss even plays in this game as we are still waiting on the waiver decision from the NCAA. If granted, he would likely start in the game against Kansas State. If not we could see Matt O’Dowd or even Jontre Kirklin as the signal-caller for this game.

Whichever way they go, expect a heavy dose of the run game to try and protect the quarterback in this one.

Dear Santa: Five items on LSU fan’s Christmas list

What are you wishing for this holiday season?

The staff here at LSU Tigers Wire would like to wish each and every one of our readers a very happy holiday.

This holiday season there are plenty of items that the fanbase is wishing for this year. For starters, the rest of Brian Kelly’s staff to be announced. Once that is checked off the to-do list, the focus will shift to finalizing their 2022 transition class under the first-year head coach.

In just over a week the final game of the season for the Bayou Bengals will be played in Houston, Texas. The Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference will battle with LSU on Jan. 4. A win would secure the team a winning record. A loss would give them their first losing season since 1999.

We broke down five items that fans are wishing for: