Nussmeier will enter the offseason with a monumental decision to make, Tigers remain hopeful he returns in 2025.

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has wrapped up his first season as the starting signal-caller for the Tigers after a rollercoaster year.

The redshirt-junior quickly became one of the most productive quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference, but it certainly didn’t come without its fair share of hiccups.

Nussmeier ended his first season as the starter tossing for 3,735 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on nearly 500 passing attempts. He completed over 63% of his throws in 2024.

It was a year of growth for the Louisiana native. Nussmeier has waited his time to take over for the Tigers and he wouldn’t have changed a thing. It’s all a learning lesson.

“This year was a huge growth year for me. I said it in September, and I still stand on it. I hope that I would be a better player now than I was in September, and I think that that was proven to be true. I think that our team got better throughout the year. We got closer, and we got better,” Nussmeier said on Saturday after the victory over Oklahoma.

“Whatever things we had to fix and the red zone scoring, we have improved on that a lot. So, I am so happy for us, so happy for our team, and the things that we have worked on. For me, personally, I think that I have continued to get better, and I have continued to grow my game. I am looking forward to continuing to do that heading into the off-season.”

Nussmeier and Co, dealt with challenges in 2024. It was a rollercoaster ride after dropping a Week 1 contest to Southern Cal before riding a six-game winning streak. From there, LSU lost consecutive matchups to Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida.

It was a stretch that had Nussmeier fall back on his faith to get back into a clear-minded state, but the program, led by their QB1, bounced back. LSU won back-to-back games to end the year over Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.

“There have been a lot of changes in the building, and I know Coach (Brian) Kelly has talked about guys that have kind of taken control and taken leadership, and it’s been huge for us. I think it will be something that will continue to grow throughout the offseason,” Nussmeier said.

Now, with the 2024 season in the rearview mirror and the Tigers awaiting their bowl selection, it’s officially the “offseason” with players beginning to make their decisions.

Yes, Nussmeier will play in LSU’s bowl game, but his future is undecided from then on.

The question remains: Will Nussmeier return to Baton Rouge in 2025 or enter the 2025 NFL Draft?

LSU head coach Brian Kelly hopes his starting signal-caller remains in the purple and gold for one more season.

“I’m hopeful that (Nussmeier’s) gonna make a decision that he comes back. He has not told me that he is but I’m hopeful that he makes that decision. If he does, I think it’s going to put our program in a really good position,” Kelly said last week.

For Nussmeier, he reiterated on Saturday night that he is yet to make his move:

“I have not decided about that. I have not had discussions, any conversations I wanted to leave that until after the season. I didn’t want to go over that. I can’t really tell you where I’m at right now or what I think,” Nussmeier said.

“I know that I love being here at LSU, I know I love this team, this school, this organization, and this fanbase. I’ll get into those conversations probably early this week and try and figure everything out from there.”

During LSU’s six-game winning streak, Nussmeier’s stock was soaring. He was a player firmly in the Heisman Trophy conversation while earning interest as a 1st Round 2025 NFL Draft pick.

Then, LSU dropped three consecutive games with scouts beginning to feel as though Nussmeier needed more reps under his belt, improvement in his decision-making and another season in college.

Despite this, he remains a top-five quarterback on most 2025 NFL Mock Draft Boards heading into the offseason.

LSU will likely compensate Nussmeier well on the NIL front in hopes of getting him back to Baton Rouge, but it’ll certainly be a decision LSU fans will sit back and wait to hear.