Brian Kelly should be a busy bee at LSU, working hard to improve their record this season. He was close to losing Garrett Nussmeier, who saved the day by choosing to forgo the draft and return. Some difficulties marked the head coach’s time at the program, unlike some of his staff. A recent insight indicates that they could be on the way to potentially outshine Kelly, sometime in the future. What have they brought forth that deems them worthy of such an accomplishment?
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg is back with another list. Thankfully, it’s not as surprising as the last one. This list names some assistant coaches across programs who Rittenberg thinks can one day make it to the top of the ladder. The obvious ones were Glenn Schumann from Georgia, Oklahoma’s Ben Arbuckle, Clemson’s Garrett Riley, and some more brilliant names. In the ‘Other names to watch’ section, Rittenberg names Brian Kelly’s two right-hand men. It’s not that they pose an immediate risk to Kelly, but the talent that they possess can make for better returns in the future.
Rittenberg thinks both of LSU’s coordinators – OC Joe Sloan and DC Blake Baker – could someday become head coaches in the future. There’s an interesting context behind this choice, which Locked On LSU’s Matt Moscona sheds some light upon. Sloan was given consideration because of the way he’s shaped star NFL QB Jayden Daniels, and Nussmeier. The then-quarterback coach worked relentlessly to improve Daniels’ accuracy. “Daniels showed up on campus, and the knock on Jaden was his inaccuracy,” Moscona notes. He recalled, “I can remember in fall camp of 2022; So, Jayden’s first season in Baton Rouge. [G]oing and watching quarterback drills where Joe Sloan’s working with the likes of Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier, and the accuracy drills they were doing was effectively target practice.”
He shed some more light on how those drills were designed. “They would set a basket with a target on it in the back corner of the end zone. These guys had to stand at all different points [in] the red zone and just pepper that target. They’d play a game where they had to throw a ball, hit the upright, hit the crossbar. I mean, so much of what they did was intentionally fine-tuning accuracy. And it certainly paid off for Jayden Daniels and I would argue for Garrett Nussmeier now.” Thanks to Sloan’s dedication, Daniels is an NFL superstar and won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in the NFC in his first season. Then there’s Garrett Nussmeier, who is coming in from a season where he produced 4,052 yards, 29 TDs, and a pass completion percentage of 64.2%.
Moscona had some mixed reviews about DC Blake Baker. He came to LSU from Missouri after creating a stellar defense out of an underwhelming one. At LSU, he was faced with the challenge of improving what was then the program’s worst defense in its history. Moscona said, “In year one, there was dramatic improvement. But it was still a mid to lower-tier defense nationally. If this year, especially with all these transfers, Blake Baker can oversee that sort of parabolic runup defensively for LSU and get them back to elite level, then yes, I do think Blake Baker will be at the forefront of everybody’s list as coordinators set to be head coaches.” This year, he really has to up his game to improve LSU’s defense rankings from last year. Joe Sloan, despite having a better time on the other side of the ball, should be worried about Nussmeier.
Brian Kelly still has to work on Garrett Nussmeier’s issues
The LSU QBs’ numbers tell two different stories. However, their most obvious point is that the star isn’t performing as expected. People once touted him as a top Heisman Trophy favorite. Nussmeier sure made 4000+ yards, but there’s also the 11 interceptions he threw. The Texas A&M game showed that Nussmeier can struggle big time. Three of those interceptions, thrown in this game, gave A&M a 21-point advantage.
Decision-making remains an issue for him, especially with that gunslinger mindset. Ahead of the Alabama game, DC Kane Wommack remarked about his aggressiveness. He said that they would “[do] all the different things to be able to create some confusion for really good quarterbacks.”And it worked; LSU lost 13-42. Preston Guy also commented about the same issue. “He made some outstanding plays last year. Showed you flashes of greatness, but there were also other times where he was too un-careful with the ball, particularly down the stretch of the season. In his first six games, I believe he only had two interceptions, so to finish the back half of the season with 10, that’s highly concerning.” Sloan would have to go harder at Nussmeier to fix these issues because the QB doesn’t have more time for improvement in the lead up to his pro career.
Nussmeier also has trouble with the deep throws. As its observed that there are consistency and accuracy issues in that department. Along with that, the QB also needs to work on improving his mobility, which seems to be limited when the ceiling becomes raised. A mix of all these issues prevents him from exploiting his talents to the maximum level.
Brian Kelly still has some time before the chances of his assistant coaches taking better positions elsewhere become more prominent. However, he also has to make sure not to have a repeat of 2024 this season and, hopefully, draw more from the success of 2023. Meanwhile, Garrett Nussmeier has to give it his all in his last dance in college football. Without fixing these issues, people might start backtracking on the hopes they had for him this season.
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