A debilitating, early injury derailed former LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier's senior season; now, he opened up about it.
The senior year of LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was supposed to be one for the history books. It ended with him on the bench, and his head coach was fired.
It wasn't Nussmeier's fault, though, as he was dealt a tough hand heading into his senior year.
The Lake Charles native spoke to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday and opened up about the injury, after having to be fairly hush-hush about it throughout his senior year.
Then Tigers head coach Brian Kelly was actually fairly adamant at points that Nussmeier was going to be able to recover in the season and that it wouldn't play as big a role as it was being made out to be. It seems as though Kelly was hiding the truth.
Nussmeier revealed that the abdominal/core injury that hampered his year happened on Day 2 of fall camp. Meaning that his season was really just doomed from the start.
"How much did it affect me? I think it was pretty evident. I really wasn't able to throw the football. I had a stabbing pain in my ab every time I went to go throw the ball."
The effect that the injury had was clear on paper. Here is the difference between his last healthy season and last year:
2024 - 64.5% completion, 4,052 yards (7.7 yards per attempt), 29 touchdowns, 12 interceptions
2025 - 67.4% completion, 1,927 yards (6.7 yards per attempt), 12 touchdowns, five interceptions
They were clearly limited in their play-calling options and had to go for a lot more short-yardage plays and fewer explosive calls. Nussmeier just wasn't able to throw the ball as much. It was clear to see the pain on any deep pass attempt, which usually fell far off target.
"We weren't able to figure out exactly what it was," said the senior. "It was a frustrating deal. It wasn't LSU's fault. It wasn't the doctors' fault. They did a great job of taking care of me. It was just a rare deal."
Nussmeier also added that they were only able to nail down the issue about two months ago, and he rushed his preparation time for the Senior Bowl. At the Senior Bowl, he admitted that he was still not 100%, but did look much more like himself.
It'll be interesting to see where he goes in the NFL draft. He could end up a major steal of a player for a team that chooses to focus more on his 2024 and chalk 2025 up to bad luck.