With women’s basketball and baseball both winning national championships, all eyes are now set on LSU football to have the same success. Head women’s basketball coach, Kim Mulkey, and head baseball coach, Jay Johnson, both won national titles in their second seasons at LSU. That being said, it’s worth noting that Brian Kelly is also entering his second season with the Tigers.
The success that many LSU fans hope for and somewhat expected starts at the quarterback position. At quarterback, the Tigers come in with experience and more importantly, talent.
Below I will break down each quarterback likely to receive playing time at some point this season.
Jayden Daniels
Daniels is the clear-cut starter at quarterback this season for LSU, as he’s set to not only be one of the most talented quarterbacks in the SEC, but the entire country. Much of these expectations are because of the experience at LSU he now has.
He came to LSU from Arizona State last season. At Arizona State, Daniels had to run the ball himself frequently and do a lot of the playmaking on his own. So at first, connecting with his receivers at LSU and trusting the system at LSU was an adjustment.
But things really started to click for Daniels in the Tigers home win over Ole Miss. In that game, he threw for 248 passing yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 121 yards and three touchdowns. He kept the momentum going into the home game against Alabama two weeks later, where he passed for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 95 yards and a touchdown. Both of those performances earned him SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
Coming into the 2023 season, Daniels won’t have to adjust to a new system, and won’t have to form brand-new bonds with his receivers. Being that he’s now in a familiar environment, many expect Daniels to surpass his achievements from last season and then some.
Garrett Nussmeier
It’s been a waiting game for Nussmeier at LSU thus far. As a freshman, he backed up Max Johnson, but appeared against Ole Miss and started against Arkansas toward the end of the season. Once Johnson entered his name into the transfer portal, and Myles Brennan announced his retirement from football, many thought Nussmeier would have the starting job, until Jayden Daniels came in.
Nussmeier’s starting possibility wasn’t completely out of the question, however, as a strong Spring Game performance in 2022 opened many eyes. But, of course, Daniels ultimately won the job through summer camp.
He appeared in several games throughout the season, including both the SEC Championship game against Georgia, and the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against Purdue.
When Daniels’ LSU career comes to an end after this season, Nussmeier will be the prime candidate for the starting job in 2024. But the experience he has as a backup will be valuable this season. If anything were to happen to Daniels whether it is injury-related or production-related, Nussmeier stepping in wouldn’t be an unfamiliar sight.
Rickie Collins
LSU landing Collins in the Class of 2023 couldn’t have been better for their system, as he plays a very similar game to Jayden Daniels.
Collins, who played at Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge, threw for 1,512 yards and 17 touchdowns and ran for 598 yards and another six touchdowns. He early-enrolled at LSU in January and appeared briefly in LSU’s Spring Game, where he completed three of seven passes for 25 yards and ran for 19 yards.
Similar to Nussmeier’s first season, Collins will likely use this season to learn and make a smooth transition to college football. In fact, learning under Jayden Daniels will be useful to him being that they have similar playstyles. But that being said, if LSU was in a tough situation, and wanted to stick to a familiar system, Collins would be a solid answer.
