Will LSU Football Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier Return for the Tigers in 2025?

Nussmeier has a significant decision to make sooner rather than later, wraps up first regular season as the starter.

Nov 23, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (13) looks over the Vanderbilt Commodores defense during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has a significant decision to make sooner rather than later regarding his playing career: Return to Baton Rouge next fall or enter the 2025 NFL Draft.

The redshirt-junior quickly became one of the most productive quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference this season, but it certainly didn't come without its fair share of hiccups.

Nussmeier ended his first season as the starter tossing for 3,735 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on nearly 500 passing attempts. He completed over 63% of his throws in 2024.

It was a year of growth for the Louisiana native. Nussmeier has waited his time to take over for the Tigers and he wouldn't have changed a thing. It's all a learning lesson.

"This year was a huge growth year for me. I said it in September, and I still stand on it. I hope that I would be a better player now than I was in September, and I think that that was proven to be true. I think that our team got better throughout the year. We got closer, and we got better," Nussmeier said on Saturday after the victory over Oklahoma.

"Whatever things we had to fix and the red zone scoring, we have improved on that a lot. So, I am so happy for us, so happy for our team, and the things that we have worked on. For me, personally, I think that I have continued to get better, and I have continued to grow my game. I am looking forward to continuing to do that heading into the off-season."

Nussmeier and Co. dealt with challenges in 2024. It was a rollercoaster ride after dropping a Week 1 contest to Southern Cal before riding a six-game winning streak. From there, LSU lost consecutive matchups to Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida.

Now, it's decision time:

LSU head coach Brian Kelly hopes his starting signal-caller remains in the purple and gold for one more season.

“I’m hopeful that (Nussmeier’s) gonna make a decision that he comes back. He has not told me that he is but I’m hopeful that he makes that decision. If he does, I think it’s going to put our program in a really good position,” Kelly said last week.

Kelly detailed on Wednesday morning that Nussmeier will have an announcement sooner rather than later.

"We're gonna have some announcements on that very shortly where I think everybody's gonna know where we are moving forward. We won't have a walk-on at quarterback I can tell you that. I think all of those decisions are coming up," Kelly said. 

For Nussmeier, as of 10 days ago he hadn't made a decision yet regarding his future in Baton Rouge:

"I have not decided about that. I have not had discussions, any conversations I wanted to leave that until after the season. I didn't want to go over that. I can't really tell you where I'm at right now or what I think," Nussmeier said.

"I know that I love being here at LSU, I know I love this team, this school, this organization, and this fanbase. I'll get into those conversations probably early this week and try and figure everything out from there."

During LSU's six-game winning streak, Nussmeier's stock was soaring. He was a player firmly in the Heisman Trophy conversation while earning interest as a 1st Round 2025 NFL Draft pick.

Then, LSU dropped three consecutive games with scouts beginning to feel as though Nussmeier needed more reps under his belt, improvement in his decision-making and another season in college.

Despite this, he remains a top-five quarterback on most 2025 NFL Mock Draft Boards heading into the offseason.

It's now "Decision Time" for LSU's signal-caller. Will he return for another season at the helm of the LSU offense or depart to begin his professional journey?

More LSU News:

Paul Finebaum: LSU, Brian Kelly in a "Really Bad Spot" Moving Forward

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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