Scooter Hobbs column: Can Nussmeier continue the LSU QB trend?

American Press

2 days ago

As long as we're playing the Talking Season game, let's work with the assumption that LSU's Garrett Nussmeier will win the Heisman Trophy this season.
After all, the last two Tigers' quarterbacks who started as fifth-year seniors did it. How tough can it be, huh?
Play along with me here.
Joe Burrow had a Heisman Trophy to go along with his 2109 national championship season. Jayden Daniels had no defense — none, nada, zero — to go along with the championship-caliber offense he directed in 2023, yet even with an historically bad defense it still wasn't that far out of the playoffs.
So, anyway, for today's exercise, as long as we're playing loose with assumptions, let's take it as fact that LSU's defense will continue the improvement it made a year ago. It will be better.
So there you have it. Pretty simple. The math is not that complicated.
Nussmeier Heisman trophy = LSU national championship.
It's not even August yet. You can take anything you want for granted and still have a fighting chance arguing at the water cooler.
Anyway, tossing defensive questions aside for the moment (or into the assumption basket, at any rate) it's just up to Nussmeier, with a little help from his friends, to win the Heisman.
And any man on the street can tell you exactly what the Nuss Bus needs to do to claim the biggest prize.
'This offseason for me has been just watching all parts of my game, seeing all the areas where I need to be critical of myself and improve,' Nussmeier said recently. Then he hit on the two-prong obvious… 'whether it's taking care of the football or using my legs more in situations where I need to.'
It's not rocket science.
Run more and cut down on the interceptions.
It's not like Nussmeier is a plow mule when running. He's certainly no gazelle like Daniels. But the suspicion is that he could pick his spots a little more and be effective enough running as a surprise to keep defenses more honest.
You won't find many quarterback runners like Daniels, of course. When Burrow was in residence, however, coaches first of all had to convince him not to run, or at least that running should generally be the last option.
They're massaging Nussmeier the opposite way, reminding him that when nobody is breaking open it doesn't mean the play failed if you run for a few yards.
It's not like he looks hesistant to run, certainly not shying away from contact — more like he's slow to concede that a pass play just isn't working.
That also might cut down on the 12 interceptions he threw last season.
'There's no hiding from the turnovers,' he said. 'It's more (that) … with the way I am as a player, an anticipation player, there's going to be some turnovers. The ones I need to eliminate are the ones where I'm trying to do too much, trying to make a play I don't need to.'
Translation: He rarely sees a pass he doesn't think he can connect on. The first line of every Nussmeier scouting report seems to say, 'Can make all the throws.'
It's why he'll likely follow Burrow and Daniels as high first-round NFL draft picks.
Still, the dozen interceptions last year (in 337 attempts) certainly doesn't fit the LSU Heisman profile.
Burrow was intercepted only six times in 527 attempts to win his Heisman, Daniels just four times in 327 attempts.
But it's not like it was a chronic problem last year. More of a midseason flare-up.
Nine of the 12 interceptions came in a five-game span, most notably the Texas A&M game where three picks sabotaged a 10-point lead. That was the catalyst for a three-game losing streak that any playoff talk.
In the last of those three losses, 27-16 against Florida, there were no interceptions, but Nussmeier was sacked seven times (he had no more than two in any other game).
The last four games he had only one interception with eight touchdown passes.
'There were times last year I may have made a mistake, where if I had put my head down, got back to the line of scrimmage, or ran for three yards and slid, it could have been a different outcome.'
It's those kind of things that have occupied Nussmeier during the offseason. It's off the field as well, trying to bulk up, 'to be more durable to be able to run and make plays with my feet.'
'Obviously my goals are team goals,' he said. 'Me being the best version of myself will hopefully lead us into team goals.'
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Scooter Hobbs covers LSU athletics for the American Press. You can reach him at [e-mail]