Tag: Garrett Nussmeier

Instant Analysis: Five takeaways from the LSU-McNeese game

Five takeaways from the LSU Tigers in-state matchup with the McNeese Cowboys

Last week the defense had plenty of struggles in the loss to UCLA, this time around they played with a much different attitude.

The LSU Tigers defense was able to blank the McNeese offense led by Cody Orgeron. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the defense was absolutely punishing the opposing quarterback. Orgeron was able to get one touchdown against his dad on a 44-yard screen pass to Carlo Williams, ending the shutout bid.

On offense, the Tigers played both scholarship quarterbacks in this game. Johnson threw three touchdowns again this week, two of which went the way of Kayshon Boutte. Trey Palmer caught the opening score of the game for the Bayou Bengals on a fourth-down play.

Garrett Nussmeier would take over late in the third quarter, he would lead two scoring drives. He would finish three for 10 with 19 yards passing. His receivers did him no favors with drops. However, the Tigers get the win 34-7 and look towards the Central Michigan Chippewas next week.

The five quick takeaways from this week’s game:

Five bold LSU Tigers predictions for the upcoming season

A look at five bold predictions for the LSU Tigers ahead of the 2021 campaign.

We have heard from Mark Schlabach of ESPN as he laid out his bold predictions for the SEC and the LSU Tigers.

While it isn’t all sunshine and daffodils for the Bayou Bengals, we do see things a little differently for the team. They kick off the year against UCLA and follow that up with McNeese State and Central Michigan before SEC play begins. The Tigers could find themselves 3-0 before they seek retribution against Mike Leach.

This could be a make-or-break season for head coach Ed Orgeron, who changed out his staff ahead of this season. The team has a young quarterback but they are an experienced group. The team returns most of their starters from a season ago.

However, it is time to get bold. We have five bold predictions for the LSU Tigers in 2021:

Pat’s POV: Should Garrett Nussmeier be in consideration as the starter

A look at how each quarterback performed during the scrimmages. Should Garrett Nussmeier be in the conversation to start at quarterback?

In this week’s edition of Pat’s POV, I look at the quarterback situation for the LSU Tigers.

Going into the 2021 offseason it was expected to be a battle at quarterback between fifth-year senior Myles Brennan and sophomore Max Johnson. The two quarterbacks combined to throw for 2,181 yards with 19 touchdowns to just four interceptions. They completed 59.4% of their passes in 2020.

It was expected to be an intense battle, under Brennan the team was 1-2, however, the defense gave up 44 and 45 points in the two losses. You could hardly put that on Brennan. In the two starts for Johnson, he went 2-0 as the quarterback. The defense gave up 34 and 48 in those two games but the Tigers came out victorious.

Looking at a W-L record really isn’t the way to go in a quarterback competition, it boils down to which passer puts the team in a position to be successful. Going into the year with a new offensive coordinator in Jake Peetz, Johnson felt like the better fit for what they want to do on offense. He was the more mobile quarterback which fit the heavy RPO offense, much like they used Joe Burrow under Joe Brady.

Unfortunately, the quarterback competition never got underway in fall camp due to Brennan’s injury. It was all about Johnson from that point forward. Freshman quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was expected to be the No. 2 guy, at least until Brennan could return from a broken arm. Should Nussmeier be in consideration for the QB1 job?

[vertical-gallery id=19954]

While one shouldn’t believe that Nussmeier, with no career starts should immediately get the nod, he has shown in two scrimmages that a conversation should take place. Head coach Ed Orgeron has spoken highly of the young gunslinger in recent weeks. Orgeron also was adamant in stating that “Max is the starter.”

“Garrett is going to be one great quarterback. He is dynamite.” – Orgeron following the second scrimmage

In the second scrimmage, Nussmeier outgunned the starter with his performance. A breakdown of their performances in both scrimmages shows that Nuss has been more productive.

Nuss Comp Att Yards TD Johnson Comp Att Yards TDs
1st 11 17 225 3 1st 11 19 127 1
2nd 18 32 308 3 2nd 11 19 125 1

Looking at the average yards per attempt, Nuss averaged 10.9 to Johnson’s 6.6. Experience is obviously a huge factor in the decision as well, the freshman was playing for Flower Mound High School last year as Johnson played in six games in an SEC-only schedule.

Perhaps in the upcoming nonconfernce schedule, the team can see how the young gun looks running with the ones against Central Michigan or McNeese state to make a better decision. Given his performance throughout fall camp, Garrett Nussmeier is trying to force the conversation.

[listicle id=23123]

Head coach Ed Orgeron provides potential Myles Brennan timetable

Head coach Ed Orgeron stated that Myles Brennan will return at some point this season.

The LSU Tigers were expecting a quarterback battle to commence what fall camp got underway. That never came to fruition when senior quarterback Myles Brennan suffered an injury to his non-throwing arm leaving his super senior season in doubt.

The Tigers would essentially be forced to go with sophomore southpaw Max Johnson as the starter. He could have won the competition but the camp has been focused on getting him prepared for the opener against UCLA in the Rose Bowl on Sept. 4. It also gave freshman Garrett Nussmeier ample snaps that are key for his development.

On Wednesday when speaking to the media, head coach Ed Orgeron spoke about the senior quarterback Brennan. “I don’t want to say anything prematurely, but he’s just getting over the pain,’ Orgeron stated. I was told he could come back sometime this season. As early as mid-season, as late as the open date, something around there. None of that’s definite now.”

[vertical-gallery id=20017]

This is positive news as early reports following the injury questioned whether or not he would be able to play in 2021 at all. Brennan joined the Tigers as part of the 2017 recruiting class. The four-star prospect was ranked as the No. 6 pro-style quarterback of the class and No. 4 prospect from the state of Mississippi.

Having his experience and leadership around the program will help the development of both of the young passers on scholarship. LSU was going into the season with Johnson and Nuss as the only two scholarship quarterbacks.

Orgeron also alluded to the fact that Brennan could be throwing and in pads in a month just to try and work back into the mix at quarterback. The team would feel a lot better about the situation at quarterback having him in the fold. Hard to survive an entire season with just two quarterbacks in the mix. Last season the team used three with Brennan, T.J. Finley, and Johnson.

[listicle id=21947]

Freshman quarterback Garrett Nussmeier shines in first scrimmage

On Saturday, freshman quarterback Garrett Nussmeier showed what he is capable of.

The first scrimmage of fall camp saw a quarterback rise to the occasion. The freshman from Flower Mound, Texas, put together a solid performance for the offense.

Garrett Nussmeier has been putting in the work this offseason, which is huge for not just him but the team. Losing Myles Brennan due to an elbow injury has put a strain in the quarterback room. The team also lost T.J. Finley earlier in the offseason to the transfer portal. He is now at Auburn behind starter Bo Nix.

On Saturday, Nuss completed 11 of his 17 passes, 64.7% completion rate. He threw for 225 yards, which equates to 13.2 yards per attempt. The Tigers freshman quarterback also added a total of three touchdowns.

Head coach Ed Orgeron was very complimentary of his young gunslinger following the scrimmage.

“The guy’s a gunslinger,” Orgeron stated. “It seems like he can throw the ball down the field from his hip or any position. He’s not being careless with the football.”

Last season no one expected that freshman Max Johnson would be rushed into playing quarterback for the Tigers. After the injury to Myles Brennan, the team used T.J. Finley before giving way to Johnson in the final two games of the season.

With Johnson as the No. 1 quarterback, Nussmeier has to be ready at any moment. Orgeron alluded to the fact that Nuss “could be playing at any time.” Early indications through camp are that it appears he will be ready when his moment comes.

[vertical-gallery id=19954]

Five-star quarterback lists LSU among top group, commitment date looming

The LSU Tigers find themselves in the running for 2023 five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson a week before his commitment date.

The LSU Tigers received some more positive recruiting news on Sunday afternoon. Malachi Nelson, a 2023 five-star quarterback, named the Tigers among the top seven schools for his recruitment. The Tigers were among one of the first schools to offer the talented gunslinger from Los Alamitos, California.

During the 2021 recruiting cycle, the Tigers were able to sign a talented quarterback from Texas in Garrett Nussmeier. In the following class, LSU added a commitment from the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country, Walker Howard. Could the Bayou Bengals go three for three with another five-star talent? That remains to be seen, but the answer will come fairly quickly as Nelson has set his commitment date for a week from Sunday.

In a shortened 2020 season, Nelson threw for 1,513 yards with 23 touchdowns and four interceptions. Currently feels as though the Oklahoma Sooners are the lead dog in the hunt for his commitment according to all the recruiting analysts that have made a prediction. Lincoln Riley takes a quarterback every other cycle and he doesn’t have one for 2022.

Malachi Nelson’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 5 1 2
Rivals 5 2 – –
ESPN 4 2 1 3
247 Composite 5 5 1 2

Vitals

Hometown Los Alamitos, CA
Projected Position Quarterback
Height 6-3
Weight 180

Recruitment

  • Offered on Oct. 22, 2019
  • No visit scheduled at the time of publication

Offers

  • Louisiana State
  • Alabama
  • Florida State
  • Notre Dame
  • Ohio State
  • Oklahoma
  • Southern California

Crystal Ball

Film

Twitter

[listicle id=18834]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Evaluating LSU’s current quarterbacks on roster

LSU is stacked at the quarterback position heading into the 2021 season.

LSU hasn’t exactly been known as a quarterback school in recent history.

But that all changed when the Tigers landed Ohio transfer quarterback Joe Burrow ahead of the 2018 season. The rest is history, as LSU went undefeated on the 2019 season and capped it all off with a national championship victory over Clemson.

Burrow was a large part of the team’s success, winning the Heisman Trophy and going first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Such a run is obviously a good thing for recruiting and now, for the first time in a long time, the LSU quarterback room is absolutely stacked with talent.

The position battle will continue through fall camp, but the way things stand right now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Max Johnson at the helm of the offense for the first game of the season after he went 2-0 as a starter last year.

Here’s a quick overview of each of LSU’s three quarterbacks and what they bring to the table.

Max Johnson

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson was the last to take a crack at the quarterback position last year, replacing struggling TJ Finley who had only recently taken over for an injured Myles Brennan.

Johnson helped propel LSU two to victories — one upset win on the road over then-No. 6-ranked Florida and then back at home with a win over a respectable Ole Miss team.

So far at LSU, Johnson has completed 58.7% of his passes for 1,069 yards with eight touchdowns and just one interception. Johnson has shown his mobility and ability to evade pressure (and he showed us last year he’s also got some impressive spin moves). Johnson totaled 199 rushing yards with two touchdowns over just five games in which he recorded stats.

Johnson finished the spring game out 11-of-17 passing for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Quarterback position will be something to watch for LSU ahead of 2021 season

Who will take the reins as LSU’s starting quarterback this season?

Myles Brennan was the clear-cut starter for LSU ahead of the 2020 football season, but his campaign was cut short when he suffered an torn abdomen against Missouri, causing him to miss seven games.

Heading into the 2021 season, a lot has changed at LSU.

Former offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger will move into an analyst role with ex-Panthers quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz taking his place. The Tigers also brought back DJ Mangas, who served as an offensive assistant for the Panthers, to be the team’s passing game coordinator.

Both Peetz and Mangas have a connection to Joe Brady, who was LSU’s passing game coordinator when the Tigers went undefeated and won the national championship over Clemson in 2019.

Orgeron said he would have to talk with Peetz about the situation at quarterback as LSU goes “all spread” in 2021.

Peetz shared his thoughts about the passers in the room on Wednesday.

“Max (Johnson) is a guy, you’re right, he can move. He has some mobility to him,” he said. “But if you look at his calmness and his footwork in the pocket. This guy can play pro-style football. This guy can play in the pocket, he can sling it. We can do some different things, moving it.”

Peetz made a comparison to Brennan, in some aspects.

“I would say the same thing for Brennan. He can move the pocket, he has very good balance. He’s a guy that can sling it, I like his lower half.”

He also had appreciation for what TJ Finley, who initially took the starting position in Brennan’s relief until Florida matchup, brings to the table.

TJ is a big a man now. We were talking earlier today,” he said. “Seeing him for the first time reminded me a lot of when I first came to Carolina and seeing Cam Newton. These are big men.

LSU also has Garrett Nussmeier out of Flower Mound, Texas, who has been a highly touted recruit, in the room this year.

“Then we have Garrett Nussmeier. Garrett tore up 6A football in the state of Texas,” he said. “He’s a guy that is extremely competitive.”

Based on this alone, it sounds like the quarterback competition in Baton Rouge has been busted open, and it will be interesting to see who takes the field as a starter when the season begins.

LSU quarterback commit Garrett Nussmeier has another big night

Four-star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier committed to the LSU Tigers back in May.

Four-star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier committed to the LSU Tigers back in May. Since that time, Nussmeier has competed in the Elite 11 Finals and began the final season of his high school career.

To say Nussmeier is having a strong season would be an understatement.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound signal-caller from Marcus High in Flower Mound, Texas, had another big night in Friday’s win over Plano West High School.

Nussmeier completed 22 of 31 passes for 349 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Marcus High is now 7-0 on the season and looks poised for a run at the state championship.

The son of former NFL quarterback Doug Nussmeier, the current quarterbacks’ coach of the Dallas Cowboys, has passed for over 2,300 yards with 27 touchdowns on the season.

LSU quarterback Myles Brennan should return next season. The Tigers should also bring back TJ Finley and Max Johnson — newcomers this fall.

However, if no player has a stranglehold on the job next fall, Nussmeier could push for playing time at quarterback.

Nussmeier and Marcus High return to action on Nov. 27 as it travels to Lewisville.

LSU QB commit Garrett Nussmeier helped set up big recruiting weekend

Nussmeier wanted those who haven’t been to LSU’s campus to get a feel for Baton Rouge.

Garrett Nussmeier committed to the LSU Tigers back on May 4.

Since that time, Nussmeier has been busy trying to get some of the nation’s top recruits to join him in Baton Rouge.

The four-star passer from Flower Mound High in Flower Mound, Texas, recently helped lead a recruiting event in Baton Rouge that featured LSU recruits — such as himself — and several uncommitted elite prospects like Korey Foreman, Tristan Leigh and Maason Smith, among others.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NCAA recruiting remains in a dead period and has been since March.

[lawrence-related id=10678]

That didn’t stop Nussmeier and others from creating their own recruiting event.

The idea was for commitments to meet uncommitted players and tour the LSU campus and Baton Rouge. Recruits can’t meet with coaches and haven’t been able to since mid-March.

Nussmeier wanted those who haven’t been to LSU’s campus to get a feel for Baton Rouge, he said in an interview with Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.

“I put together this trip to try and get some guys that haven’t seen the campus and some commits that haven’t seen the campus and give them a chance to see what Baton Rouge has to offer,” Nussmeier said.

LSU currently has the No. 3 recruiting class in 2021 with 18 commitments and could be poised for a strong finish.

[vertical-gallery id=10469]