Water will find its level when it comes to how we all should feel about LSU Tigers starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. In theory, Nussmeier should be good enough to lead the Bayou Bengals into the College Football Playoff this season before being the No. 1 overall pick by the NFL franchise his father works for in the New Orleans Saints. On the contrary, he does need to show us a little bit more.
Nussmeier is of the exact same quarterbacking prototype that lives to drive us all crazy. Matthew Stafford and Justin Herbert are cut from this cloth. So were Sam Darnold and Blake Bortles. Physically, they have it, but oftentimes in games, you are left wanting more, especially in critical situations. That being said, some of the Nussmeier slander is starting to get so far out of hand...
When it comes to Walter Camp All-American Team ahead of this season, Nussmeier was not on either roster. Walter Camp went with Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik on the first team, which is totally justifiable. Where they lost me was having Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt on the second team. I am a big Leavitt fan, but no one outside of Tempe thinks he is a second-teamer.
The fact Nussmeier did not even make the second team should light a fire under him for this season.
Garrett Nussmeier should have been a preseason All-American at QB
I did not intend to make a mountain out of a molehill with this preseason All-American team put forth by Walter Camp, but I think we have seen just a little bit more out of Nussmeier than we have out of Leavitt up to this point. While they were only first-year starters last season, Nussmeier played against better competition in the SEC and played sporadically backing up Jayden Daniels for two years prior.
Again, this is not to slander Leavitt, who I think has a legitimate shot to contend for the Heisman out of the Big 12, but rather the optics of leaving Nussmeier off both teams. Had they put Arch Maning on the first team, I would have pulled all of my long blonde hair out of my skull. Thank goodness it is not the case. What I am getting at is how will this look optically when we get to awards season later on?
I get Walter Camp sticking its neck out in its beliefs. There is a chance Leavitt may prove to be the better quarterback in the end. For the time being, I would rather go with something that feels safe. It is why I would have had Klubnik and Nussmeier as my two preseason All-American quarterbacks. I may like LaNorris Sellers the most out of South Carolina, but I am not going to let bias get the best of me.
The best part in all of this is LSU will get to play at Clemson in the Battle for Death Valley in Week 1.