LSU football seems to be on a journey to the playoffs with its new-and-improved roster. After 10-3 and 9-4 seasons under Brian Kelly, the energy in Baton Rouge has been a bit complicated. However, in his third season, Kelly seems to have put the work in.
LSU has the best roster of Kelly’s three-year run, and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is returning for one more season. Evidently, the pieces are there, but will they work together? Well, Nussmeier seems to think it will.
Despite Issues, Garrett Nussmeier Confident About LSU Roster
Nussmeier is all in for the upcoming 2025-26 season. The 6’2″ quarterback pushed the NFL dreams for one more ride in the purple and gold, and he does not regret it. In fact, in a recent interview with On3, Nussmeier believes this LSU team has the best roster he’s ever been a part of.
“It’s the best team I’ve been a part of at LSU,” Nussmeier said.
And he just might be right, considering that the Tigers went hard in the transfer portal. Now, they are the No. 2-ranked transfer class according to On3.
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Kelly added a wide receiver trio from the transfer portal this offseason: Barion Brown from Kentucky, Nic Anderson from Oklahoma, and Destyn Hill from Florida State.
Nussmeier lost a lot of his top pass catchers from a season ago, but LSU seems to have made quite the rebuild. Nussmeier’s 2024 top target, Aaron Anderson, who had 884 yards and five touchdowns, will be returning to LSU as a redshirt junior. That’s a passing attack that can do big things in the SEC.
LSU also got serious with its line of scrimmage, snagging seven linemen via the portal. They have names like Josh Thompson, a no-sack star from Northwestern, and Braelin Moore, a Virginia Tech interior menace, who are expected to anchor this team. The new names join two homegrown stars, Tyree Adams and Weston Davis.
The defense is also looking good this season. Patrick Payton and Jack Pyburn will handle edge duties. At linebacker, Whit Weeks has recovered from his bowl game injury and is ready to go. The secondary consists of Ashton Stamps, Virginia Tech transfer Mansoor Delane, and NC State’s versatile corner TaMarcus Cooley.
“It’s the closest team I’ve been on,” Nussmeier said. “And ironically enough, it involves most of these transfers. It’s a new era of college football. It’s a new world, and I think we’ve embraced it.”
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Now, that is no simple statement in the era of today’s transfer-heavy landscape. Chemistry matters, and LSU seems to be working on it fast.
After falling short of a College Football Playoff berth for three straight years, LSU and Brian Kelly finally have a shot at redemption. Nussmeier, now mentioned in early 2026 NFL Draft talk, knows this is his moment.
Will LSU finally put it all together and make a real run at a national title? The answers are still up in the air, but Nussmeier is betting on it. And so are Kelly and Baton Rouge.
