Last season, Garrett Nussmeier returned to LSU for another shot at a national championship. However, the Tigers never got going, culminating in the firing of Brian Kelly and a disappointing year for the quarterback. In hindsight, the line between a top draft pick and a mid-round gamble for Nussmeier was drawn by a single, debilitating injury he couldn’t even diagnose for most of the season.

“My injury occurred in fall camp, day two, practice two of fall camp,” Nussmeier said at the Combine. “I really wasn’t able to throw the football. I had a stabbing pain in my abdomen every time I went to throw the ball. We weren’t able to figure out exactly what it was. It was a frustrating deal.”

The LSU quarterback added that things only started looking up two months ago. By that time, the injury had caused significant damage to his draft stock. He passed for less than 2000 yards in 2025, after having crossed the 4000-yard mark in 2024. The injury’s impact was clear in his deep passing game, where he completed only 36% of his attempts over 20 yards as the pain made such throws virtually impossible.

The injury background also provides some context for why he was benched multiple times last season. The major benching came in the third quarter against Alabama, when interim head coach Frank Wilson put in sophomore Michael Van Buren Jr. after the Tigers struggled to move the ball. Following the Alabama loss, he was officially ruled out of the rest of the regular season due to his abdominal injury.

Garrett Nussmeier was finally able to recover from that injury ahead of the Senior Bowl. He told the press that he wasn’t at 100% yet but that he was still showing remarkable improvement. The LSU star was finally able to repair his draft stock by earning the MVP honors in the event.

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He connected on five of his eight passes, threw for 57 yards, and scored on the American team’s first two possessions. While not enough to completely rewrite his draft narrative, the MVP performance proved to scouts that his talent hadn’t disappeared.

“I’ve made a lot of progress over the last month,” the QB added. “Feeling much more like myself, which has been exciting.”

The signal caller is now among the prospects with the most to prove at the 2026 Combine. Nussmeier also has the advantage of the possible No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza not throwing at the Combine.

Where can Garrett Nussmeier be headed in the draft?

NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah regarded the LSU QB as a third-round pick. Given his performance last year, Nussmeier appears unlikely to be selected in the first round. But teams may still value his strengths as an experienced starter, his intermediate-level skills, and his ability to quickly read information post-snap. PFSN’s mock draft tabbed Nussmeri as a potential fit for the Steelers as the 85th pick in the draft.

The team desperately needs a competent player at the position, since there’s not much talent behind Aaron Rodgers. Plus, the veteran QB is clearly a temporary fix if he returns next season. Under the new head coach, Mike McCarthy, it looks unlikely that the Steelers will start Will Howard or Mason Rudolph. One option is to get a quarterback in free agency. However, that doesn’t mean the team can’t pick up a developmental player in the draft.

The Tigers QB is heading to the draft backed up against the wall. Having a father as an NFL coach and once being among the most prolific passers in college football isn’t going to move the needle for Nussmeier. But with a strong showing at the Combine, can he turn the tide against him?