LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier Enjoying Best Week Of Practice Amid Abdomen/Torso Injury

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

It keeps sounding like LSU will air it out on Saturday night against Southeastern Louisiana with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s abdomen/torso injury continuing to improve.

“Because he’s feeling good,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said after practice Thursday when asked why he has decided to play Nussmeier against a large underdog FCS program instead of resting the injury.

LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier “has been slowed a little bit with a torso (abdomen) injury.” … Brian Kelly:https://t.co/qtEguLJwLe

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 15, 2025

“We had to limit a lot of the things we did the first three weeks, and he’s finally coming to practice feeling good and getting into a good rhythm,” Kelly said. “This is his best week of practice, so we wanted him to go and play the game at a level where he’s comfortable.”

Nussmeier has not been at his best health all season with the painful injury and has been uncharacteristically inaccurate frequently. A popular opinion among fans and some media was to sit him out or play him sparingly against SLU to get him closer to 100 percent for a significant Southeastern Conference game at No. 13 Ole Miss (3-0, 2-0 SEC) a week from Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC).

There will be no rest for the injured – namely Garrett Nussmeier – vs. Southeastern La. Saturday.https://t.co/OOcv5i89zt

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 17, 2025

LSU (3-0, 1-0 SEC) and the Lions (2-0) kick off at 6:45 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network.

“To hold him back at this point really would not be the right thing for him,” Kelly said. “So, he’s excited to play, because he feels so much better. I don’t want to say, ‘Hey, he’s back to the Garrett Nussmeier.’ But there were a lot of things that he couldn’t do that he had to kind of adjust to. It’s good that he’s back to doing the things and throwing the football where he feels comfortable.”

Kelly said Nussmeier will not have a pitch count.

“No, I don’t think we go into it with that thought process,” Kelly said. “Let’s play Garrett, and see how this thing goes, and then make adjustments during the game.”

INJURY REPORT

Kelly said that starting linebacker West Weeks is doubtful for Saturday after suffering a calf injury in the 20-10 win over Florida last week.

Tight end Trey’Dez Green is questionable and close to probable after injuring his knee in the Louisiana Tech game two weeks ago. He did not play against Florida.

“Trey’Dez was out at practice today, moving around,” Kelly said.

Backup defensive tackle Zion Williams practiced fully Thursday after not playing in LSU’s last two games with an injury.

Wide receiver Destyn Hill (broken hand) is not expected to play Saturday, but may have a chance to play at Ole Miss a week from Saturday, Kelly said. He may have his cast removed early next week.

SEC TO ANNOUNCE 2026 SCHEDULE OPPONENTS ON TUESDAY

LSU and the rest of the SEC teams will learn their nine league opponents for the 2026 season, including the three annual opponents for ’26 and the near future, on Tuesday after league teams played only eight SEC games since 1992. The dates of the game will be announced later.

“They’ll come up with a pretty good rationale for it,” Kelly said. “But I’ll take Alabama, and I’ll take Georgia. No, I’m kidding. I mean we’ll play whoever they tell us to play. I really don’t know who it’s going to be. I just want to play what naturally would be our rivals.”

One new natural, annual potential rivalry game with a lot of fresh sauce would be Texas as it is another border school with a higher profile than current annual border rivals Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Arkansas.

“But I don’t have a vote in this,” he said.

BRIAN KELLY DEFERS TO COMMISSIONER GREG SANKEY ON JABAAR JULUKE SUSPENSION

Kelly was asked if he felt the SEC office’s three-game suspension for Florida associate head coach Jabbar Juluke was enough for apparently slapping LSU safety Joel Rogers during a pre-game scuffle involving both teams before the LSU-Florida game at Tiger Stadium Saturday.

Unacceptable. Three games isn’t enough. https://t.co/mWF7fsYwE7

— Matt Moscona (@MattMoscona) September 17, 2025

“Our commissioner (Greg Sankey) has a better sense on issuing those penalties,” he said. “We just wanted to make sure that our player was safe, and he was OK. Whatever happens as far as suspensions or sanctions, that’s out of our hands.”