Brian Kelly Details How to Build LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier's Confidence

Garrett Nussmeier and Co. will prepare for a Week 11 showdown against Alabama, significant postseason implications on the line.

Oct 26, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) warms up prior to the game against the Texas A&M Aggies The Aggies defeated the Tigers 38-23; at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers control their own destiny moving forward with four games remaining on the 2024 schedule.

After suffering a second loss last weekend, the Bayou Bengals currently sit with a 6-2 (3-1) record on the season.

In a battle between a pair Top 15 programs in College Station, LSU and Texas A&M squared off in one of the premier games of the week.

For Tigers signal-caller Garrett Nussmeier, it quickly became one that he'll put in the rearview mirror after a three-interception performance.

But Kelly and Co. understand there are a few pieces that caused those mishaps and it doesn't fall solely on Nussmeier's shoulders.

“That’s the process of a first-time starter at quarterback, Kelly said on Tuesday. "Some of these ladies and gentlemen that were here in Jayden Daniels’ first year, we threw for 86 yards against Auburn. We barely got out of Arkansas after a 13-10 win. We got our butts kicked against Tennessee. Jayden Daniels, they’re ready to put up a statue in Washington right now. There were many, many people calling for his job here in Baton Rouge early in his tenure.

“So it’s the life of the quarterback at any level and Garrett knows that. His dad’s a quarterback coach. He’s built for this and he’s not a guy that is gonna shy away from it.”

One piece that stood out to Kelly was Nussmeier taking full accountability on Saturday night after the Texas A&M showdown.

“He was in the press room and he took full responsibility and accountability for what happened, which as you know, the quarterback gets too much of the credit and gets too much of the blame,” Kelly said. “But having said that, he is up for the challenge of getting better. He’s out there and we’re working with him to get him to the level that he needs to be and he’s excited about doing it.

“So I’m not really worried about a loss of confidence with him because he knows this. He knows what this looks like and he knows others that have been here that are having incredible success in the NFL right now have gone through a similar path of development and he’s going through that too.”

LSU will take on Alabama on Nov. 9 before matchups against Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma to round out the year.

“I mean, we’ve lost our margin, right? We have no margin for error. We have to go back and look at some of the things I just talked about, right? We have to build balance within the offense," Kelly said in College Station on Saturday. "We have to be able to handle the running quarterback. The silliness of the field-goal stuff, that has got to end. That is just ridiculous. We’ll clean that up in short order. But those two things in particular."

More LSU News:

Instant Takeaways: No. 8 LSU Falls to No. 14 Texas A&M in College Station

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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