With the NCAA’s current transfer portal rules, many have described the world of big-time college athletics as the “Wild West.” But in preparation for the 2024 college football season, at SEC Media Days in Dallas on Monday, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier spoke about why he stuck around in Baton Rouge rather than enter his name in the portal, as so many do.
“When I was making my decision out of high school of where to go to school, I felt like there was a lot of prayer involved, and God brought me to LSU for a reason,” said Nussmeier, a former four-star prospect who backed up 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels for two seasons. “I did not feel like it was my time to just pack up and leave. I felt like it was my duty to just keep my head down and trust in His timing and just work. I know God’s timing is always right.”
Nussmeier, 22, will enter his fourth season with the Tigers this fall, having only ever started last season’s ReliaQuest Bowl victory against Wisconsin. He’s played a fair amount otherwise — appearing 18 games with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions — but it’s never been “his team.” This fall, that’s all set to change.
“I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to step into some pretty tough situations,” Nussmeier said later at SEC Media Days. “I feel like they’ve only made me better as a player. And now getting the experience — and the preparation as well — as a starter, I think it’ll only help even more. … I’ve been thrown into some tough situations, but it’s only made me better and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Nussmeier referenced extended playing time against Alabama, Auburn and in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia as moments that were key in preparing him to be a full-time starter in 2024. Yet during Nussmeier’s time as a backup, he was learning far more than just X’s and O’s.
“I’ve grown a lot closer to God and got to experience different things through my relationship with Him too,” he told reporters at the Manning Passing Academy last month. “I had to learn to put a lot more trust in Him, and I think everything happens for a reason. God’s timing is always right, so it was learning to accept that and put all my trust and all my faith in Him.”
