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LSU Tigers and Brian Kelly on the verge of landing their next Garrett Nussmeier to add to their stacked 2026 recruiting class

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Travis May | Last updated May 17, 2025 7:15 PM ET

The LSU Tigers are set at quarterback in 2025 as Brian Kelly and his staff hope to ride Garrett Nussmeier all the way to the College Football Playoff and beyond. However, the future at the quarterback position is a complete unknown after Nussmeier is gone.

Yes, the team has a few other inexperienced options on the team already, but the real future of the LSU Tigers may be landing with the team here soon.

Bowe Bentley, Four Star QB Recruit

Brian Kelly and his staff pushed hard again this spring on the recruiting trail after they locked in the seventh ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2025. Just this spring the LSU Tigers have added five more recruits to their 2026 recruiting class as they continue to dominate in-state recruiting. Now they're hoping to land their most important recruiting target of the 2026 cycle in highly touted four star quarterback Bowe Bentley.

As we outlined earlier this spring, LSU was not firmly in the mix with Bowe Bentley until a pivotal visit that took place in late March. However, Bentley just announced his Top 2 schools on Saturday, and it's apparently going to come down to either the Tigers or Oklahoma.

NEWS: Elite 2026 QB Bowe Bentley is officially down to LSU & Oklahoma, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’2 200 QB from Celina, TX is ranked as the No. 5 QB in the ‘26 Class (per On3)

Where Should He Go? ⬇️https://t.co/Fqjz8UXcFV pic.twitter.com/auWY9VicJ8
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 17, 2025

Bentley was also considering the Georgia Bulldogs this spring prior to five star quarterback Jared Curtis' commitment back to Kirby Smart, but with that news it seemed like only a matter of time before things got narrowed down to LSU and Oklahoma.

Bentley is set to visit both the Sooners (June 13) and the Tigers (June 20) and he'll likely announce his commitment shortly after that this summer.

This is an absolutely crucial recruiting battle for both LSU and Oklahoma as the future looks murky at quarterback for both following this season. Garrett Nussmeier is certainly off to the NFL next spring as he's considered a potential first round pick. John Mateer (Oklahoma's new transfer QB) may follow suit as well.

Bentley is one of the last high pedigree four star quarterbacks completely up for grabs, so whichever school misses out on him may be just about completely out of luck in the 2026 recruiting class. Bentley brings with him impressive dual threat ability, a smooth release, accuracy, and faster processing than expected for most any high school quarterback. He could push to start early in college.

LSU does have transfer quarterback Michael Van Buren who saw significant action for Misssissippi State last season. He may open next spring as the favorite to start for the Tigers. However, beyond that Colin Hurley is a completely unproven commodity who just recovered from a severe car crash. Ju'Juan Johnson converted to safety, then to running back, and is now back at quarterback. That's not the kind of player any top tier college football program wants as a potential QB3.

Look for LSU to push hard into the summer to land Bowe Bentley. If Brian Kelly and his staff can land him (and it looks like they're in good position to do so) they might just have their next Garrett Nussmeier with slightly better mobility.

We'll be back with more LSU Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

And if you want to see why Bowe Bentley could be the perfect Garrett Nussmeier replacement just check out his highlights below!