re: Why would Nussmeier stay through Spring?

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Because he's happy and loves LSU.

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good lord. Most every college player loves the college they're at. Nussmeier grew up in Texas, he's got no particular affinity for Louisiana.

Players want to play, and with QBs, there's only 1 on the field at a time. It's not like WR, RB, or DL.

If you're stuck at no. 2, you won't see the field much. Daniels had a very good year and, barring injury, will start next year.

So Nuss has to decide whether he'll stay here for a third year as a backup, or transfer somewhere where his chances of starting are very high.

It has nothing to do with happiness or love of LSU. It's all about playing time.

Maybe he wants to win a National Championship at LSU ?

Matt Flynn sat for 4 years to play 1 and look at how that worked out for him.

Nussmeier will still be just a redshirt sophomore, still one play away from being the starter if Daniels should be injured, and he's possibly going to see a good bit of playing time regardless.

Maybe he enjoys being at LSU and likes his teammates and coaches. Maybe he sees the possibility of starting for one or two years and realizes the value of development as a college quarterback.

Perhaps he will transfer. I have no idea what his decision will be, but fans seem to believe every kid wants to transfer and then declare for the NFL as quickly as possible; that it's all they think about night and day.

Each kid is different. Looks to me like he's having fun, so maybe he has a better understanding of his life than the fans do.

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Kelly has already said that there isn't a controversy. There won't be a competition between Daniels and the others.

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That’s not what Kelly said. It’s a football team, there is always competition. I actually really like that Kelly is explicit about the pecking order. Helps to establish benchmarks and leadership, open competitions are rarely open.

Now let’s assume it is a foregone conclusion that JD will start and stay healthy until he leaves campus. Nussmeier simply needs to ask himself do I have a better chance of starting elsewhere this season, and is that a better opportunity/landing spot than being the LSU starter in 2024.

Despite what anyone here may think, Nussmeier has not shown enough to walk into any program on LSUs level and have the starting job be his to lose. Probably less of a gamble to just stay put, at least through spring. If he doesn’t like where he is at, there will be opportunities to walk into a starting job, but his best chance is still at LSU at the moment. That’s true of most transfers. Kids just get impatient.

Even if he doesn’t win the starting job, he’ll play. And after 23, the starting job is wide open.

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So, what could Nussmeier possibly gain by staying here? I don't want him to leave at all as I think he's a supremely talented kid and one who I believe has shown that he is capable of leading this offense; but in today's landscape of college football regarding quarterbacks it doesn't seem to benefit him to stay.

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Did Daniels play until the bowl game was out of hand? Do you think the staff rotating the QBs through the entire game was an accident, or just for the hell of it? If he’s still here, it’s pretty obviously he and the staff have some kind of understanding of how things will go, at the very least through Spring practice.

As for “benefits,” maybe Nuss wants to win. That still matters to some people. This roster is young and improving and ended up with an outside shot at the playoffs in year one with Kelly. Sure, he can leave and go to somewhere like SMU or maybe Auburn where there’s a clear opening for a starting QB and put up the numbers he needs to get noticed. If starting today is his priority, maybe he does that after Spring if he doesn’t outright win the job, but most of those opportunities won’t have the ceiling that this team currently does.

How many legit Top 25 caliber teams for next season have a clear opening at QB where Nuss wouldn’t just “have a shot,” but he guaranteed to be the starter? We’re talking NC St, maybe UCLA, maybe USEe, and possibly Utah. Out of that list, only Utah would have any shot at a playoff berth, and they are losing a lot of production while the PAC 12 is actually getting better. Everyone else either has someone returning or a clear front-runner for the job. Yes, OSU, UGA and Bama are all replacing starters, but all have guys rated as high or higher than Nuss in the program or signed and he doesn’t have the starting experience they might be looking for if they portal shop. He definitely wouldn’t be handed any of those jobs outright.

If he wants to start with a legit shot to win a title, who else offers a clearer path for him right now? Based on what Howard looks like today, Nuss certainly has an inside track on the starting job here in 23 if he doesn’t take it this off-season. Even if he doesn’t, I’m willing to bet the staff’s gameplan for the bowl game was a preview of coming attractions. But that’s just my opinion.

We’ll know what matters to Nuss when it all shakes out. No one will know where he’s going or what he’s doing until it happens, so read tea leaves if you want, but different people have different motivations and no one here knows what’s going on in his head or what he will do until he does it.

We do know one thing for sure. His Dad has been a coach for a long time. Nuss isn’t getting advice from family members who may mean well but don’t know shite, or worse, are looking for a quick payday off of him. If his Dad thinks LSU offers him the best all-around opportunity, he will probably stay here. If not, he will leave.

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Nuss obviously isn't going to demand that but this natty run has that TCU fan base fired up.

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People keep bringing up TCU, but they already have Chandler Morris, a freshman with a clearer path to the job who knows the offense and was the starter to begin this season. Do you think they will drop 500k for Nuss to likely be a backup to a guy with 2-3 years to play?

If this about proximity to his Dad, SMU is also right there and has a much clearer opening with their starter having already hit the portal. But like most of the programs with clear openings and no 5 star, Elite 11 guys waiting in the wings, they won’t offer the same opportunities to win big that LSU does.

Maybe we gave Howard too much hype and he needs more than a redshirt year to develop?

Daniels is gone after 2023. Nussmeier still has 2 years to play after 2023 and he won’t find these receivers in any other program he transfers to over the next 3 years. And for these reasons patience.