LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier must turn learning into winning in SEC

Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been at LSU since he was recruited by the program as a four-star quarterback out of Flower Mound, Texas, in 2021.

He knows the ins and outs of football in Baton Rouge, and that's one of the main reasons there are some massive expectations on him going into his super senior season. He also knows SEC football, having started all 13 games for the Tigers in 2024.

Recently speaking at the 2025 SEC Kickoff on Monday, the experienced and weathered quarterback made it clear that playing in the SEC is not for the faint of heart. His statement was a little bit self-aggrandizing, but that's the SEC way, right?

“It is the toughest conference in all of football and I think that’s pretty evident. I don’t really care what anyone says about it,” Nussmeier said, according to Grant Grubbs and Brett McMurphy of On3. "To play an SEC schedule week in and week out, you don’t get any rest … When you go from what we did, playing [Texas] A&M to Alabama to Florida. Like, it doesn’t get easy. So, definitely a learning experience.”

LSU's final stretch of 2024 was admittedly brutal. The Tigers lost four games in 2024, and three of them came in a row against No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 11 Alabama and Florida.

The Tigers bounced back to finish the season on a three-game win streak, including a win over Baylor in the Texas Bowl, but a 9-4 season is below expectations in Baton Rouge.

Whatever Nussmeier learned last season about life in the SEC, he's going to have to quickly turn those lessons into wins in 2025. For what it's worth, he does believe his experiences in 2024 will help him.

“Being able to watch an entire season, correct mistakes and to go back and see my weaknesses and see things that I need to improve on, find the tells that I may have been giving to defenses and things like that. It’s a totally different ballgame, to have a full season to be able to watch and correct,” Nussmeier said. “Also, just from my personal growth as a player and having those experiences under my belt, I’ve seen a lot."