After a stellar 2024 season, Garrett Nussmeier could have gone to the NFL. He had been in Baton Rouge for four seasons, and after becoming the full-time starter last year, totaled 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns through the air. He also led the SEC in completions with 337. That kind of production was very appealing to NFL scouts.
Instead, Nussmeier chose to return to Baton Rouge. It was a vital get for Brian Kelly, who enters a pivotal year at the helm of the Tiger program. Nussmeier is set to lead a talented LSU offense that has the potential to win a national title.
With the start of the new college football season inching closer and closer, NFL Draft experts are already looking ahead to next year's draft. One prominent analyst has Nussmeier projected to follow in the footsteps of other prominent LSU quarterbacks to be selected very early on draft night.
Nussmier can join Burrow and Daniels in LSU lore
In his "appropriately early" 2026 NFL mock draft, NFL Draft expert Todd McShay has Nussmeier projected as a top-five pick. More specifically, he has Nussmeier slated to be drafted No. 4 overall by the New York Jets. McShay cited Nussmeier's accuracy, timing, leadership, and experience to back up his projection for the Lake Charles product.
McShay has Nussmeier slated as the second quarterback to be drafted, with Clemson's Cade Klubnik going first overall to the Cleveland Browns. Nussmeier and Klubnik are set to square off on Aug. 30 as LSU visits Clemson, in what Dabo Swinney expects to be an "epic battle."
In just the past few years, LSU has had two QBs selected extremely early in the NFL Draft. Joe Burrow was selected No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020, and Jayden Daniels was selected No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders in 2024. Both Burrow and Daniels were Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks in Baton Rouge, and Nussmeier is firmly in that conversation heading into the 2025 season. Now, he's also in the top-five overall pick conversation as well.
Tiger fans won't be surprised to see Nussmeier get selected in the top-five. He even has a chance at the No. 1 overall pick if he really shines in 2025. Nussmeier is also on the verge of history this season, as he has a chance to become the all-time passing yards leader in LSU history. He needs 3,344 passing yards to break Tommy Hodson's record of 9,115 yards.