Lane Kiffin left his playoff-bound Ole Miss team to start a new journey with LSU. It is now expected that the Tigers will try to compete for a title next season rather than simply taking a year to adjust under Kiffin and their quarterback.
Garrett Nussmeier entered the season as LSU’s starting quarterback but has not appeared since the Nov. 8 game at Alabama due to injury. He passed for 1,927 yards and 12 touchdowns while completing 67% of his throws this season.
Interim head coach Frank Wilson III confirmed this week that Nussmeier will be unavailable for Saturday night’s Texas Bowl matchup against Houston.
LSU QB’s Potential Transfer Portal Decision Puts Lane Kiffin in a Tough Spot
Nussmeier’s continued absence has fueled speculations about Michael Van Buren, who has started LSU’s final three games in his place. Van Buren said last month that he planned to stay at LSU while the program searched for a new head coach.
However, with Kiffin now leading the Tigers, LSU insider Matt Moscona discussed the uncertainty surrounding Van Buren’s future.
“I think the biggest question remaining is whether Van Buren is even back, and I don’t know,” Moscona said in his “After Further Review” podcast. “I mean, if Lane Kiffin is going into the portal, which he will, of course, to go find a starter, I don’t know if Van Buren’s back because Van Buren came here with the understanding he was going to sit in 2025 behind Nussmeier with the likelihood of being the starter in ’26.”
“Now, I don’t think anybody thinks he’s going to be the starter in 26. So does Van Buren. And if he does, then you have no scholarship quarterbacks on your roster. Zero. There are going to be those options in the portal, but you’re going to have to get at least two. It is going to be a really tricky situation to navigate here for Lane Kiffin in this portal cycle.”
Kiffin is set to lose Nussmeier to the 2026 NFL Draft. Redshirt freshman Colin Hurley, who has not seen game action, is expected to enter the transfer portal, according to On3/Rivals. Wilson said the staff is continuing to evaluate which quarterbacks will be available for the Houston game, leaving Van Buren’s status unresolved.
Van Buren made his first career start in Week 12 and led LSU to a 23-22 SEC win over Arkansas on Nov. 15. The win snapped a three-game losing streak as he completed 21 of 31 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 36 yards. He has thrown for 743 yards and five touchdowns this season, and carries a reported $307,000 NIL valuation per On3/Rivals as well as a 73.6 rating in the PFSN QB Impact Metric.
Meanwhile, LSU has already been connected to several quarterbacks entering the transfer portal. Reports have suggested Kiffin has reached out to former Florida five-star DJ Lagway, while Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt is also viewed as a potential target in LSU’s ongoing search for its next signal-caller.
