Winners, Losers & Takeaways As Garrett Nussmeier Rebuilds Draft Stock During Senior Bowl’s Day 3
Currently, the 2026 quarterback class is a one-horse race with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza as the overwhelming favorite to be this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick. Beyond Mendoza, every other incoming signal-caller is jockeying to be the next selected.
LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier once had an excellent chance of being the next name called. At the start of the ’25 campaign, Nussmeier was viewed as a potential first-round target after throwing for 4,052 yards and an SEC-leading 29 touchdowns as a junior.
His standing fell off dramatically because of a down senior season, which resulted in him being benched. His situation was compounded by an abdominal injury that didn’t allow him to play in LSU’s final three regular-season contests.
“Even after admitting he still isn’t 100 percent healthy, Nussmeier decided to participate in the Senior Bowl anyway,” Harms said. “While he didn’t light up the daily practices, he looked unfazed by the environment. He came back from missed throws with accurate tosses, communicated to his receivers when they should break off their routes instead of continuing them and made multiple completions Thursday that stood out.
“Whether making a move in the pocket to find his man along the sideline or getting out of pressure and throwing on the run, Nussmeier showed he has what it takes to run an offense.”
While the quarterback’s physical tools aren’t top notch, the soon-to-be 24-year-old prospect understands the game and shows a style of play to efficiently operate within a system.
“Nussmeier displayed the mental processing and accuracy that translate well,” B/R scout Dame Parsons said. “He delivered well-placed passes during red-zone drills on Day 3 resulting in a score. During the two-minute drill, Nussmeier’s leadership, quick decision-making and natural passing ability shined as he put the team in position to score before the clock struck zero.
“This week’s effort proved to evaluators that his statistical fall-off was more connected to LSU’s downturn than his ability to play quarterback.”
