Garrett Nussmeier has heard the comparisons. They’re far too easy to make. A second-year starting quarterback coming off a breakout season paired with an embarrassment of riches at the skill positions around him. The last two times that happened at LSU, Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels each went home with the Heisman Trophy.

There are plenty of reasons to think Nussmeier’s trajectory tracks with his predecessors’—as well as a handful of clues he may be on a path to even bigger numbers. But Nussmeier isn’t trying to be the next Burrow or Daniels. He’s just gonna be Garrett.

“Look, at the end of the day, I’m not Joe Burrow, and I’m not Jayden Daniels. I’m Garrett Nussmeier,” Nussmeier tells 225. “I’m just gonna be me and do things the way I’ve learned. Joe’s process is different than Jayden’s process, which is different than my process. I fully respect who they are and what they’ve done, and I would love to be able to (accomplish) what they did, as well. But it’s also about understanding that you have to be yourself, you know?”

So, who is Nussmeier?

Fans know the 6-foot-2, 200-pound gunslinger for his lively, accurate arm, his poise under pressure, and his passion for the purple-and-gold.

But it’s the intangibles that make Nussmeier uniquely positioned to carve out his own piece of history. There are layers to the man behind the facemask. Traits that have tailor-made him to be the face of LSU’s football program. “Every quarterback is different. Every player is different,” Nussmeier says. “So I wouldn’t say I’m focused on making that year two jump like they did. I’m just focused on being the best quarterback I can be for the LSU Tigers.”

ACE IN THE HOLE

Catch Nussmeier in warmups, and he’s likely dancing, doing pushups or dropping pinpoint passes with his earbuds in. His pregame playlist isn’t overly complicated or intricate, but it is uniquely Nussmeier.

“George Strait all day,” he says. “It keeps me calm to listen to country music. I have all the George Strait essentials, and I just shuffle it all day.”

His favorite song? “Ace in the Hole.” It’s a track from the 1989 album, Beyond The Blue Neon, with some strikingly apropos lyrics for Nussmeier’s footballing journey. The song explores life as a game, and the necessity of playing your cards right while simultaneously having a few tricks up your own sleeve.

“When life deals out a surprise, have a few surprises of your own,” Strait sings. “No matter what you do, no matter where you go, you’ve got to have an ace in the hole.”

I’m just focused on being the best quarterback I can be for the LSU Tigers.

[—Nussmeier]

For much of his life, regardless of where he’s lived, Nussmeier has been that ace.

The 23-year-old has played quarterback for as long as he can remember, dating back to his days with the Juanita Rebels in Seattle, Washington, when he was 8. As the son of longtime NFL quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, Garrett and his family moved 12 times across eight states throughout his childhood, following his father wherever he was working at the time.

No matter what grade he was in or where he was living—from Washington to Michigan to Florida or everywhere in between—Nussmeier always found a way to fit in with the team he was quarterbacking. He’d meet people from all walks of life and all stretches of the globe, but he was sure to make an effort to establish a connection with his teammates.

“I had to go into 12 different locker rooms and play for 12 different teams and get to know 12 different groups of guys,” Nussmeier says. “I couldn’t be afraid to get to know somebody. I had to just throw myself out there. I feel like one of my strong suits now is being able to lead a football team and being able to connect with my teammates, and that is definitely because of the way I grew up and all the different situations I was put in. It built me into who I am today.”

Nussmeier’s move to Baton Rouge marked the 13th of his life. It fittingly matches the jersey number he wears each Saturday.

And just like the majority of his previous dozen stops, he’s managed to make his mark on the city.

Setting aside his on-field accolades, Nussmeier’s bond with his current teammates seems as strong as ever. Find yourself on the LSU social media algorithm, and you’ll regularly see Nussmeier dancing in the background of his teammates’ posts.

His now-fiancée, Ella Springfield, recently posted a TikTok of him participating in the internet trend where guys call their fellow guy friends simply just to tell them goodnight. The laughter between Nussmeier and teammates like Aaron Anderson, Nic Anderson and Trey’Dez Green is contagiously funny, and it’s obvious the group’s bond is tight.

It’s not just friendly camaraderie. Nussmeier has also taken on more of a leadership role as a fifth-year senior and returning starter, serving as a mentor to the underclassmen. Sophomore Ju’Juan Johnson, who joins Nussmeier in the quarterback room this fall, says he’s leaned on Nussmeier’s experience to help pick up the nuances of the position.

“It’s fantastic because he has been in that fire on the football field as an SEC quarterback,” Johnson tells 225. “I tend to ask a lot of questions like, ‘What were you thinking in this situation?’ and (he’s) not selfish with his knowledge. It’s very helpful that he’s in my corner.”

Johnson says he’s spent the offseason picking Nussmeier’s brain whenever he can and soaking up all the knowledge the experienced signal-caller has to offer. Those are just the vibes of this 2025 unit. Head coach Brian Kelly even hosted a “B.K. BBQ” at his house this summer, featuring pool basketball, a slam-dunk contest and a full spread of barbecued meats for the team.

“This is one of the closest teams I’ve been on since high school,” Nussmeier says, recalling that TikTok video with a smile on his face. “That’s the weird thing and one of the hardest challenges about college football nowadays … trying to build chemistry with guys who are all coming from different places and have different stories to their career. We’ve done a good job of that so far, and it’s something we’re definitely focused on. I enjoy them a lot. They’re all good dudes, and we have a lot of fun.”

And the fun is not just limited to social media trends. On the field, Nussmeier and co. constructed some of the best offensive numbers in the nation in 2024. They could be on track for even bigger things this fall.

“No matter what you do, no matter where you go, you’ve got to have an ace in the hole.”

LEAP YEAR

The similarities between Burrow’s and Daniels’ LSU careers and Nussmeier’s projected path aren’t hard to follow. But it’s their differences that make the current situation a little more unique.

Both of LSU’s recent Heisman winners transferred to LSU after beginning their college careers elsewhere. Nussmeier could have easily followed suit, albeit in the opposite direction.

He was born in Lake Charles, and after bouncing from state to state every couple years throughout his childhood, he eventually returned to Louisiana following a stellar prep career at Edward S. Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. Nussmeier racked up 8,160 pass yards and 83 touchdowns in high school while becoming a four-star recruit and one of the top prospects in the entire country. He received scholarship offers from college football powerhouses including University of Georgia, University of Texas at Austin, Penn State and many more.

Ultimately, he chose the Tigers. When he arrived at LSU, Nussmeier sat behind Max Johnson his freshman year and Daniels the next two seasons.

I felt like God had brought me to LSU for a reason.

[—Nussmeier]

There were plenty of opportunities for him to make a move to another school in search of immediate playing time. No one would have judged him. No one would have blamed him.

In fact, 247Sports reported in 2023 that 62.3% of the Power Five starting quarterbacks had transferred at least once in their careers.

Nussmeier says the thought of transferring “definitely” crossed his mind. But he wanted to be the exception.

“I felt like God had brought me to LSU for a reason,” he says. “Louisiana was my home, and just because it wasn’t happening the way I wanted it to or on the timetable that I wanted it to, I felt like it was my job to trust in God and his time for me. I had to stay grounded, keep my head down and keep working.”

His patience paid off. In his first full season running the offense, Nussmeier statistically finished as the most prolific first-year starting quarterback in school history with more passing yards, completions, attempts, touchdowns and total offensive yards than any first-year starter in program history—including Burrow and Daniels.

He finished the season ranked No. 5 in the country with 4,052 yards and No. 10 with 29 touchdowns. He’s returning this fall with a year of starting experience under his belt, hoping to build off those impressive numbers.

“There’s experience you have to get from playing,” LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan said in a 104.5 ESPN Radio interview this summer. “There were things that happened during the season, and he’s now aware of how they transpired … and (he’s) practicing and preparing year-round to avoid some of the negatives and highlight (his) strengths. There’s a calmness, and that’s what experience brings you. I couldn’t be more excited about what he’s done and the way he’s shown his leadership.”

Nussmeier is garnering national attention. The fifth-year senior ranks either No. 1 or No. 2—depending on the day and website—in the preseason Heisman odds and is widely considered the most experienced quarterback returning to college football this fall.

He brings with him a fully stocked arsenal of weapons at running back, tight end and, most importantly, wide receiver—where four- and five-star talents litter LSU’s lineup.

“We have a lot of talent, and we have a lot of different things we can do because of the talent we have,” Nussmeier says. “We have tight ends that can run like receivers, and we’ve got tight ends that can block like linemen. We’ve got receivers that can run so many different routes with so many different types of builds at receivers, and they’re all fast.There’s going to be a lot of ways for us to get people involved.”

And, he promises one thing: “We’re going to be very explosive.”

It’s an exciting prospect for LSU fans as they hope to improve off last season, which was a bit of a roller coaster for the Tigers.

After a tough opening-season loss to USC in a game that many in purple-and-gold felt they should have won, the Tigers rattled off six straight wins highlighted by a thrilling 29-26 showdown against No. 9 Ole Miss. Three consecutive losses followed, only for the season to end with a three-game winning streak, capped by a 44-31 win against Baylor, in which Nussmeier threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns.

It’s easy to see why national sports forecasters have their eyes on LSU this offseason. Kelly is entering his fourth year in charge. Nussmeier is back and more ready than ever. And the Tigers are chock-full of talent at nearly every position. The pressure is on.

But as Nussmeier will tell you: “Pressure is a privilege.”

“We know (the pressure) is there, and we invite it and we accept it,” he says. “We know our expectations. I mean, this is LSU. If you don’t have these expectations at LSU, something’s wrong. We know what’s expected of us, and we also expect that of ourselves as well. I think there’s a fine line between falling into (the pressure)—and acknowledging it but ignoring it. We’ve made changes this offseason and have been so focused on the things that we need to focus on to make us not just a competitive team—but to change the program in a competitive way.”

It runs in the family

Nussmeier’s father is Doug Nussmeier, a former quarterback who recently joined the New Orleans Saints as its offensive coordinator. Doug has coached quarterbacks and offenses since 2001. In college, he played for the Idaho Vandals, where he won the 1993 Walter Payton Award. He played in the NFL for about six years, starting with the New Orleans Saints in 1994.

Nussmeier’s younger brother, Colton Nussmeier, is following in the family footsteps, too. He ranks as the No. 3 quarterback prospect in the class of 2027 with scholarship offers from powerhouses including LSU. Nussmeier says he and his brother have been close and competitive all their lives, and he’s been trying to recruit Colton to join the purple-and-gold.

“Whether it was hoops in the driveway or playing wiffle ball in the backyard or whatever, we were always competing in everything,” Nussmeier says. “We play video games now to this day, or if we go shoot around in the driveway, it’s still super competitive.”

What about that nickname?

Expect to hear about the “Nuss Bus” all season long. Nussmeier’s teammates call him “Nuss,” and when he’s leading the offense, he’s “driving the Nuss Bus.” “I’ve heard that nickname for a long time,” Nussmeier says. “People actually called my dad that when he worked at the University of Washington. Then people called me that in high school, so it’s just kind of always been a thing. I think it’s pretty funny, so, yeah, I’m good with it.”

This article was originally published in the August 2025 issue of 225 Magazine.