GARRETT NUSSMEIER

 Ahh summertime: A lovely time in our college football schedule driven by hot-taking, list-making and sidewalk baking. Affectionally known as Talking Season, this is also when blowhards and engagement farmers tend to dictate the conversations, with not much else is going on in the sports world. And as most can attest, everyone loves a good quarterback debate.

Fresh off wrapping up my annual QB Impact Study, where I chart the top 40-50 returning passers against their most challenging opponents, this analyst is ready to join the fray and guide you towards a more fulfilling discussion. I ground through tape to find traits that translate and metrics that matter — far more illuminating than citing counting stats or scanning box scores. Plus, this exercise has a great track record for singling out the nation’s top signal callers.

This piece will focus on LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, one of college football's most prolific passers.

IMPACT SLATE: South Carolina, Ole Miss, TAMU, Alabama, Florida, and Oklahoma. 

The Skinny

High-floor pocket passer. Good arm, great feet. Potential for production. Nice upper-body zeal despite modest stature. Rotational thrower who can work from a number of angles and platforms. Just okay outside of structure, vs pressure, off play action, and tight windows targets.

The Fat

Garrett Nussmeier might lack elite physical traits, but he’s an unquestionably impressive passer that’s worthy of first-round consideration. His active feet and pocket maneuvering skills make him not only a tricky target for pass rushers but also allow him to rifle passes from multiple windows. His plus-ability to drive the ball deep further pads his resume. Nuss is nuanced, crafty, and capable of taking care of business without a lot of bells and whistles. 

The Gumbo Gunslinger, Bayou Bombardier, Mayor McNut, whatever you want to call him, Nussmeier is a gamer through-and-through. Though he reigned in some of his aggressiveness this past season, Nuss still has a bit of a reputation of being a heatseeker. Just under 24% of his sample attempts tried a tight window, where results were mixed albeit promising when clocking his on-target rate. 

(STATS COLOR CODED BASED ON PERCENTILE AMONG 44 QBS IN 2025 IMPACT STUDY; TILT TABLE SIDEWAYS ON MOBILE)

Listed at a modest 6’2, 200, his arm often exceeds expectations. He can paint the sideline, guide midrange throws into the teeth of the defense, or lead his man to paydirt. Both his Accuracy% and Interceptable% on throws over ten yards beyond the line of scrimmage finished on the good side of the Impact Study average. 

He’s simply wonderful moving, setting, and firing within structure. As a rotational thrower, he can get rid of passes in the blink of an eye with a twist and a flick. Most of his power in rhythm comes from his oblique, which takes pressure off his lower body. Like a boxer, Nuss is constantly on the move, working his offerings and timing his strikes. Shuffling around, his eyes are up and focused on the downfield pattern. Hardly ever do his peepers drop and incite hero ball antics. Even if both feet aren’t planted, Nuss rarely finds himself off-kilter and remains threatening to opponents. And when he does throw outside of frame, his juicy arm frequently makes up for it. 

Though actively working to rewrite the narrative this offseason, Nussmeier didn't show much twitch or dependability as a play extender or general run threat last year. To date, his fast release often is his main weapon to beat pressures. Despite tracking to be the SEC's best for much of the season, his Dropback Pressure:Sack Ratio in his sample was middling. Still, it’s not the worst thing that he’s just fine minimizing sacks. And if he keeps clocking sub-4.6 40's and continues to illustrate newfound suddenness, his already large bandwagon will continue to grow. 

(STATS COLOR CODED BASED ON PERCENTILE AMONG 44 QBS IN 2025 IMPACT STUDY; TILT TABLE SIDEWAYS ON MOBILE)

Despite eagle eyes overlooking ensuing dangers, the rest of his body sports the typical negative reflexes when faced with duress. Every once in a while, Nuss can shrink and shy against pressure. Sometimes, he’ll drop his elbow and lower his release point, resulting in bats or potential boo boos. He also had some good ole-fashion interceptables not being able to step into downfield throws from muddy pockets. 

(STATS COLOR CODED BASED ON PERCENTILE AMONG 44 QBS IN 2025 IMPACT STUDY; TILT TABLE SIDEWAYS ON MOBILE)

And while Nussmeier is generally solid at finding avenues to see his targets, his "okay" height creates a natural shortcoming. He can get burned and/or tricked by failing to diagnose looks glancing through traffic. If he has to drop his eyes for any reason, he’s failed to show competency relocating receivers and delivering good throws; especially off true play action. On fakes, practically all of his metrics finished in the red; and only one Impact peer posted a worse Depth Adjusted Accuracy% than his stinky 28.1% clip. 

No doubt, the last few paragraphs present clear drawbacks Nussmeier needs to work on if he wishes to be someone of substance. However, even if he remains average in all those extra breakouts, he forecasts one of the sturdiest passing floors in college football. Hinted above with all the positive rhetoric around his play inside of structure, he thrived when just asked to drop back and distribute. With no sleight of hand to execute or rusher to sidestep, he just had to play pitch and catch; shuffle up and deal. Nuss was clearly his best self in these spots. Moreover, he was one of the SEC's most successful passers on 3rd Down. Converting half the time overall, only Taylen Green bested his 46% clip on money down tries with 8+ yards to gain. 

In "floor" situations, both his raw and depth-adjusted accuracy clips beat the group average. Behind that placement and his gung-ho operation pushing passes downfield, Nussmeier’s Adjusted Net Passing Yards/Attempt (ANY/A) cracked the top5 and his Explosive Pass Rate made the top10. It wasn’t all roses. His hawkishness produced a decent rate of turnover-worthy throws and uncatchables. However, his “pass floor” profile was greener than a well-watered fairway.