Frank Wilson Hints That Backup QB Michael Van Buren May Have Role At Alabama, And Beyond

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Senior Garrett Nussmeier is still LSU’s starting quarterback for the Tigers’ next game at No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 8, but new interim head coach Frank Wilson he left the door open to a possible playing role for backup Michael Van Buren.

“We didn’t indulge too much into it,” Frank Wilson on what LSU AD Scott Woodward told him about his chances of getting LSU head coaching job from interim spot. “I just happen to be the caretaker at the moment.” https://t.co/EyRlSEttIg

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“We haven’t finalized that in our game planning just yet,” Wilson said Wednesday morning on the Southeastern Conference coaches’ teleconference. “But there are things that he does very well that we’ll ask him to do that we may not necessarily ask Garrett to do. And it will be for the benefit of the football team and the strength of his skill set.”

Wilson replaced head coach Brian Kelly as interim coach on Sunday when Kelly was fired in his fourth season after a 5-3 start, 2-3 SEC. LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was also fired, and his play calling duties have been replaced by run game coordinator Alex Atkins, who was Florida State’s offensive coordinator in 2023 and ’24. Analyst Tim Rattay is LSU’s new quarterbacks coach, which was a duty of Sloan’s.

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Van Buren, a sophomore who is a better runner than Nussmeier and started Mississippi State’s last eight games before transferring after last season, has played in two games this season. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 50 yards with a 12-yard touchdown to wide receiver Kyle Parker late in the Tigers’ 49-25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday. He rushed five times for seven yards with two sacks. He has completed 13 of 16 passes on the season for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing nine times for 33 yards.

At State, he hit 140 of 256 passes for 18,886 yards and 11 touchdowns with seven interceptions in 2024. He rushed for 169 yards on 69 carries, but lost 181 yards on 27 sacks.

Nussmeier has had a disappointing second season as LSU’s starter after entering the season as a Heisman Trophy favorite following the 2024 season when he finished fifth in the nation with 4,052 passing yards. He was also sixth in the nation in passing yards per game at 311.7.

After dealing with an abdomen strain injury for much of this season, Nussmeier is 55th in the nation in 2025 with 225.8 passing yards a game and 39th in passing yards with 1,806.

LSU has a new play caller after OC Joe Sloan is fired.https://t.co/mOiYfKHDbn

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“Cater to his strength,” Wilson said when asked what he and Atkins and Rattay can do to help Nussmeier. “Do the things that he does well. Ask him to do the things that he’s very proficient in – the things that he’s very effective in. Not ask him to do more than he needs to do. Our ability to put him in position to cater to his skill set, both athletically and mentally. There are things that he likes and does well. And so we want to do those things for him. We owe it to him to put him in that position.”

Nussmeier was considered a first round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft before he decided to return to LSU for his senior season.

“He’s a very talented quarterback,” Wilson said. “He didn’t coincidentally get to the status that he is at with an inability. And so now, it’s on us to be able to identify that and game plan around that, so that he’s able to have the success that he wants, that we need, that ultimately impacts the outcome of the game for our football team.”

WHIT WEEKS UPDATE

LSU starting linebacker Whit Weeks did not practice Tuesday because of the ankle injury that has made him miss the Tigers’ last two games, but he has a chance to play at No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 8 (6:30 p.m., ABC). LSU is open this Saturday.

“He had an evaluation that’s trending. We got positive news,” Wilson said. “Optimistic more now than ever before that the probability of him playing in this game is a reality. I don’t know that for a fact just yet., but he had a very productive day from a rehabilitation standpoint, from a diagnostic standpoint on his status. I would say he’s ascending, and the trajectory’s in the right direction for the possibility of playing in the game.”