Garrett Nussmeier Ready to Remind NFL Scouts Who He Really Is at the Senior Bowl
Garrett Nussmeier has something to prove-but not in the way you might think. The LSU quarterback isn’t out to silence doubters or chase headlines.
He’s simply aiming to remind everyone, especially NFL scouts, of the version of himself that lit up college football in 2024. And if you’re tuning in to the Senior Bowl this Saturday, you might just see that guy again.
After battling through most of the 2025 season with a nagging abdominal injury-one that lingered without clear diagnosis for far too long-Nussmeier is finally healthy. And that’s no small thing for a quarterback whose game is built on precision, timing, and torque.
“I feel good. It’s been a long process, trying to get healthy,” Nussmeier said Tuesday morning on Baton Rouge’s “Off The Bench” radio show, hosted by former LSU standouts Matt Flynn and Jacob Hester. Speaking from Mobile, Alabama, where Senior Bowl practices are underway, Nussmeier opened up about how long it took just to get answers.
“We weren’t really able to get some answers until actually probably about a month ago,” he said. “That was the first time we really kind of figured out what it was.”
Now working with quarterback guru John Beck at 3DQB in Huntington Beach, California, Nussmeier finally has a plan-and, more importantly, his body back. The Senior Bowl invitation came a little later than most, announced on January 5, but once he got the green light physically, there was no hesitation.
“Once I was able to find out I can have a full go, it was great,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for me.
I grew up watching the Senior Bowl. My dad played in it 30 years ago… back in the Dinosaur age,” he added with a laugh.
That would be Doug Nussmeier, current offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints, who suited up in the 1994 Senior Bowl before being drafted in the fourth round out of Idaho. Now it’s Garrett’s turn to take the stage-and he’s not going alone. LSU receivers Aaron Anderson and Barion Brown will be lining up with him on the American team roster, giving him some familiar targets in a high-stakes environment.
Let’s rewind for a second. In 2024, Nussmeier looked every bit the part of a top-tier NFL prospect.
He finished fifth in the nation in passing yards (4,052), sixth in yards per game (311.7), and cracked the top 10 in touchdown passes with 29. He was commanding the field with poise, arm strength, and the kind of field vision that gets scouts excited.
Then came 2025-and everything changed. The abdominal injury, which he now says went undiagnosed for far too long, stripped him of his core strength. And for a quarterback, that’s not just a minor inconvenience-it’s a fundamental problem.
“I couldn’t use my core, so I was throwing the ball without core,” Nussmeier said bluntly.
Flynn, who knows a thing or two about quarterback mechanics from his own national title run and NFL career, didn’t need much convincing.
“That’s a big deal, I would say,” Flynn joked, drawing a laugh from Nussmeier.
“Yeah, it’s hard,” Nussmeier agreed. “It’s tough.
I’ve been having to just go back from the ground up and re-train myself, and get back to finishing throws and rotating through the ball. I’m actually using my core now.
It’s been nice. The ball’s definitely coming out a lot different.”
That’s the version of Nussmeier NFL teams are hoping to see this week in Mobile. The one who can spin it with velocity and touch. The one who can make plays on the move, extend drives, and deliver in crunch time-like he did in 2024 against Ole Miss, when he threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, including a late-game scramble and multiple fourth-down conversions to secure a 29-26 overtime win.
“Quarterback made a great scramble play, couple of fourth-down conversions to put it into overtime and in overtime,” then-Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said after that game.
That’s the tape NFL teams will be watching. And they’ll be watching this week, too.
“I can’t un-see what I saw in 2024,” said Senior Bowl Executive Director Drew Fabianich when the invitation went out. “So there has to be the why.
There has to be an explanation. That difference in the two seasons doesn’t just happen overnight.”
Now we know the why. And now Nussmeier gets the chance to show that the 2025 version wasn’t the real him-it was a quarterback playing through pain, without the physical tools that made him special in the first place.
“Man, just getting an opportunity to go out there with the best of the best and go show what I can do,” Nussmeier said. “I’m not trying to prove anything. I’m just trying to be myself, and hopefully that will be good enough.”
That mindset-confident but grounded-is part of what made him a leader at LSU. Wearing the coveted No. 18 jersey, a symbol of leadership and selflessness in Baton Rouge, wasn’t just a fashion statement. It was a reflection of who he is.
“I want to let teams get to know who I am and what I’m about,” he said. “Being able to wear the No. 18 at LSU… that kind of sets the tone.
That’s what I am. I’m a team guy.
I care about my teammates. That’s my M.O.
I don’t want to go out there and try to prove that I can make every throw. One, they’re going to watch the tape.”
They will. And if the Garrett Nussmeier from 2024 shows up in Mobile this week, the NFL Draft boards might start shifting in a hurry.