The pressure’s mounting in Baton Rouge and nobody knows it better than Brian Kelly. Entering his fourth season at LSU without a playoff berth, time is running out. Last year’s 9-4 record wasn’t enough; the lack of a championship push remains a major concern. This year, with Garrett Nussmeier back for his final season, the Tigers aim for a turnaround. Nussmeier’s ready to shine, but the offensive line’s struggles last season hampered his performance. To compete in the SEC, that offensive line must improve drastically, as talent alone won’t survive.
The LSU Tigers had their fair share of inconsistencies last season, and one among them was their offensive line struggles. Remember their game against Ole Miss last season? They were held to just 84 rushing yards on 24 carries, averaging 3.5 yards per attempt. And as a result? Garrett Nussmeier’s game struggled as he completed just 4 out of 12 passing attempts. That’s something that Brian Kelly and his team cannot repeat this year.
And Blake Ruffino didn’t mince words before landing Brian Kelly with a tough warning on AYS Sports. “The offensive line is a concern. Garrett did talk about in the offseason getting stronger in his lower half to run the ball more. He better. You’re gonna have to give them enough time to take some shots down the field and connect on them and let teams back off of you,” Ruffino said. For now, sure, Garrett Nussmeier remains “100% confident” in his offensive troops, but their last season’s inconsistency is still a major concern.
NCAA, College League, USA Football: Vanderbilt at Louisiana State Nov 23, 2024 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly reacts to a play against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Baton Rouge Tiger Stadium Louisiana USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xStephenxLewx 20241123_tbs_la1_541
In 2024, Brian Kelly’s team was ranked 222nd in rushing yards and 39th in total yards per game. On top of that, they averaged 115.1 yards per game. Now, you can understand why Ruffino is stressing their run game. “Joe Sloan and this staff have got to be better at designing up plays to run the football. He does. Not all of this last year was on the offensive line. It wasn’t. You know, there were multiple times last season where I would pull up still shots of running backs missing the hole,” Ruffino said. Now, it’s not like Brian Kelly didn’t do anything to tackle this situation.
He has players like offensive lineman Tyree Adams and then transfer OL Braelin Moore. Then, along with Moore, Josh Thompson is another veteran addition to their offensive line. And don’t just sleep on that; they also have wide receiver Barion Brown. But the one whose presence might give an immediate push to Garrett Nusmeier’s game is RB Caden Durham, who was the lone bright spot behind their lousy OL. So, for now, Brian Kelly’s only concern should be protecting Garrett Nusmeier if he really wants the LSU Tigers to get a playoff run this year.
Even Ruffino stressed the same and said, “I think of national title teams, teams that had great success and great offenses. What do all of them have in common? Guys, Ohio State could run the football a year ago. Michigan can run the football. Georgia could run the football. You in 2019 could run the football. Alabama could run the football.”
Last season, Garrett Nussmeier’s 35 rushing attempts netted him -35 yards, thanks largely to sacks that stalled drives. Despite this, he still managed three rushing touchdowns, his longest run going only 14 yards. His low point was against Texas A&M, where three interceptions and a 50% completion rate left him feeling lost. The Alabama game wasn’t much better; he completed 27 of 42 passes for 239 yards, threw two more interceptions, and scored just one touchdown in another disappointing performance. So, now you know why there’s so much pressure on them to improve their offensive line! But despite all those inconsistencies Garrett Nussmeier’s hype train isn’t slowing down.
Garrett Nussmeier gaining massive hype
Garrett Nussmeier enters the 2025 season with something to prove, and he’s embracing the challenge. The LSU quarterback has become a role model, even for Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, who told Msports, “It’s cool having a guy like Nuss to look up to… I’ve watched a lot of his film. He’s a good player,” But for Nussmeier, past performance isn’t enough. He aims for greatness, not just competence.
Despite previous NFL aspirations, Nussmeier boldly returned to LSU. This wasn’t a decision born of fear, but of conviction. “There was obviously a lot of prayer and a lot of thoughts with that… I feel like I had unfinished business,” he explained. Nussmeier believes last season’s performance didn’t showcase his true potential, a burden he refuses to carry forward.
Nussmeier’s college stats—4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns—hint at NFL potential, even earning him top-10 mock draft status from CBS’ Chris Trapasso. And now he just has one goal: To lead the LSU Tigers playoff berth. “I fully believe in Coach Kelly and what he wants to accomplish this year… I wanted to be the guy to spearhead that and lead that,” he told the media last month. Now, let’s wait and see if he can actually live up to the hype or fall prey to a lousy offensive line again.
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