LSU Football: Tigers true freshman expected to make debut against McNeese State
By Zach Ragan
One of LSU football‘s highest-rated 2021 signees is expected to make his career debut this weekend against McNeese State at Tiger Stadium.
True freshman quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who was the sixth highest-rated recruit in LSU’s 2021 signing class, should see action this weekend according to head coach Ed Orgeron.
On Tuesday, Orgeron said the plan was to get Nussmeier into the game on Saturday.
"“Hopefully, I can get Garrett in this week,” Orgeron said of plans to play Nussmeier against McNeese State. “I plan on playing on Garrett, let him play and get some snaps and let’s see what he can do.”"
Nussmeier, 6-foot-1/190 lbs from Lake Charles, LA (he played high school football in Texas), was ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 14 quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class.
Don’t expect a quarterback controversy for LSU football
Just because Nussmeier will likely see action this weekend, doesn’t mean a quarterback controversy is on the horizon.
Orgeron mostly just wants to get his backup quarterback some game action. And McNeese state — a team the Tigers should easily beat — is a perfect opponent for Nussmeier to debut against.
Even if Nussmeier plays great against McNeese State, it won’t mean much as far as the quarterback depth chart goes. Max Johnson didn’t play great against UCLA (the offense as a whole, outside of wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, didn’t play great), but Orgeron and the staff still have plenty of faith in the sophomore quarterback.
If the offensive line play improves, and the running game is effective, then I think we’ll see the Johnson we saw in the final two games of the 2020 season.
Getting Nussmeier into the game is necessary because if Johnson goes down, he’s the guy.
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And starting a true freshman quarterback with zero game experience is always a big gamble.