Ed Orgeron says same thing about Garrett Nussmeier that he said about Joe Burrow 2 years ago

LSU football currently has two healthy scholarship quarterbacks on the roster — sophomore Max Johnson and true freshman Garrett Nussmeier.

Johnson will be the starting quarterback when the Tigers open the 2021 season on the road against UCLA on September 4. He became the de facto starter after Myles Brennan suffered a broken arm earlier this month that required surgery.

(Brennan and Johnson were locked into an intense quarterback battle that had yet to be decided, so it’s possible the sophomore would’ve been the starting quarterback regardless of Brennan’s injury.)

Even though Johnson has been anointed as “the guy” by Ed Orgeron, it doesn’t necessarily mean that his job is  “safe”.

Orgeron is still expecting Nussmeier to compete with Johnson.

“Max is going to be our starter,” said Orgeron last week during an interview with 104.5 in Baton Rouge (via 247Sports). “He’s got to have a great camp. The depth chart is etched in sand.”

“He knows he’s got to perform,” added Orgeron.

Ed Orgeron’s comments about LSU football quarterback Garrett Nussmeier sound like old comments about Joe Burrow

.Orgeron’s recent comments suggest that he’s a big fan of Nussmeier.

“Garrett’s a very talented young man, I’m glad we got him,” said Orgeron last week. “He’s just going to have to learn the offense, step up and be able to take care of the football. He had some unfortunate picks in the spring, but I know he’s going to get better with experience,”

Those are typical comments we hear from coaches discussing young quarterbacks. Nothing too over the top.

On Tuesday, however, Orgeron took things a step further in his praise of Nussmeier by using the same phrase he once used to describe Joe Burrow.

“Garrett has the juice, he has that IT factor,” said Orgeron on Tuesday to 104.5.

(Orgeron also noted that Nussmeier has stepped up since Brennan’s injury.)

Those comments sound almost exactly like Orgeron’s comments about Burrow from two years ago (just before Burrow took over the college football world in 2019).

“Joe’s got the ‘it’ factor, that’s it,” said Orgeron in July 2019.

“He leads by example,” added Orgeron.

Orgeron obviously knows what a great quarterback looks like. He knows what it takes to win a championship.

It’s clear that Coach O is comfortable with Johnson running the show. But the competition never truly ends. If Orgeron feels Nussmeier gives the program a better chance to win, then he’ll be the guy.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Nussmeier sees some significant playing time this fall. He might be too good to keep off the field.