LSU coach corrects the record after viral Garrett Nussmeier injury scare

A viral rumor emerged this week that LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was seriously injured during a recent football practice, and while that scare turned out to be fake news, he is dealing with a minor concern at the moment.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly confirmed that Nussmeier is dealing with a minor case of tendinitis in the patella of his knee, but doesn’t sound too concerned about it right now.

Brian Kelly responds to the rumors

“Just for the record, [Nussmeier] had tendinitis, patella tendinitis. He does not have a torn ACL,” Kelly said on Friday.

Then, he added jokingly, “We have not amputated his leg.”

That was a little sarcastic comeback against the salacious rumors circulating online late this week that Nussmeier had suffered a catastrophic injury in practice.

“He was out there today throwing. Tomorrow, he’ll be back out, most likely in a practice situation, so I thought we’d calm everybody down,” Kelly said.

How serious is the issue? Not very, according to the coach.

“On the scale of 1 to 10, this is like a 1.5, on the scale of 1 to 10,” he said. “And that’s just being honest with you, so we get the right information out there, you know.”

He added: “It’s not a serious injury. And it’s like guys dealing with tendinitis virtually every day, in life. Take two aspirins and I’ll call you in the morning, right? This is more precautionary.”

The original rumors around the LSU star

Kelly’s remarks come after some shocking commentary online that Nussmeier had suffered a significant knee injury that could place his availability for the season in doubt.

Another insider confirmed that Nussmeier was not seriously banged up by whatever happened on the field.

“Yeah, he’s fine... These people are unreal,” one person near the LSU football team told The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, referring to online rumor-mongers.

That rumor was able to take off in part because the apparent issue took place when LSU was having a closed practice, but the claim was disputed by beat reporters soon after.

“I think it just planted, you know, the wrong way, and when you have something that is, a pre-existing condition, you can piss it off real easy and that’s kind of what happened,” Kelly explained further regarding Nussmeier’s condition.

“It’s not torn. There’s no fraying. There’s none of that. This is pre-existing. And he probably just planted the wrong way. There’s nothing really to see on film with it. But it’s just pissed it off. Aggravated it would be the better way to put it for me.

“He aggravated it a little bit, but he’s good to go,” he said.

Nussmeier heading into Year 2

A redshirt senior, Nussmeier is heading into his second season as LSU’s starting quarterback after declining to enter his name in the 2025 NFL Draft earlier this year.

His first showing as the Tigers’ starter was one to remember, as he engineered a passing offense that finished the season ranked seventh nationally in total production.

Nussmeier passed for 4,052 yards and scored 29 touchdowns while throwing 12 interceptions last season, completing 64.2 percent of his pass attempts in 2024.

The fifth-year player made history as the first LSU quarterback ever to pass for at least 4,000 yards in a season and return the next year.

What he means to LSU in 2025

Nussmeier’s return bodes well for LSU’s offense since the program lost out on the commitment of five-star quarterback recruit Bryce Underwood, who flipped to Michigan in the 2025 cycle.

Having his quarterback return under center will be an important foundation for head coach Brian Kelly to build on as he enters a pivotal year in his tenure after going 9-4 last season.

Nussmeier entered the No. 1 position after Jayden Daniels declared for the NFL Draft late last year, thrust into the starting gig for the Tigers in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

He impressed in that debut, throwing for 395 yards and 3 touchdown passes in a win over Wisconsin, and went on to throw for over 400 yards in 2 games while hitting 64 percent of his pass attempts.

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