MOBILE, Ala. — had no plans of shutting down his season after he was benched in November against Alabama. The quarterback said he understood the decision and expected things to “go back to normal” the next week.
But that Tuesday, as Nussmeier went to throw a frontside shallow — a simple 8-yard route — the 23-year-old bent over in pain.
He had re-injured the abdominal injury that had plagued him throughout the season. And though he spent the rest of the week rehabbing to get ready for the next game, Nussmeier came to a realization: I can’t do this.
“At that point, I knew if I can’t throw a frontside shallow, I’m not effective,” Nussmeier said Wednesday, recalling the moment publicly for the first time. “I can’t help my team win. From there, it wasn’t really a decision I was able to make to not play.
“It was forced upon me.”
Months later, Nussmeier admitted he’s still not 100% healthy. He said surgery for the ailment was considered, but as of now Nussmeier doesn’t believe it is needed.
Instead, he has focused on retraining “from the ground up.” After playing most of the year hurt, Nussmeier said he picked up “so many” bad habits when adjusting to the injury. His play suffered as a result, creating a fascinating dynamic as he participates in the Senior Bowl this week.
Last fall, Nussmeier entered the college season viewed as one of the nation’s top prospects, with the potential to be the first overall pick in the draft.
This week, he has to show that he’s worthy of being drafted at all.
“Not the best,” Nussmeier said when asked how he evaluated his play last season. “There were things, obviously, that I take full ownership in and the areas that I needed to be better at. Unfortunately, some new things happened because of what I went through with the injury. (It was) frustrating, for sure.
“I don’t blame anybody for the frustrations. I wanted to be the best. I wanted to lead us to a national championship. I wanted to win the Heisman. And those were all the things I dreamed about doing. So not being able to do them, I understand why people were frustrated, because I was frustrated myself.”
Despite the lackluster campaign, Nussmeier didn’t sound like someone who regretted passing up the NFL draft last year when his stock was much higher. He said returning to LSU last year was an “easy choice” and that he took the responsibility of wearing No. 18 seriously.
He said even with the injury, he “wouldn’t take any of it back” because he was willing to do whatever it took to play every Saturday. He said he believes the adversity will make him a better player in the long run.
Even now, there are parts of Nussmeier’s injury that remain a mystery. He declined to get into specifics about it, though he indicated that he and LSU officials went from believing the ailment was a core injury to an abdomen. He said the injury, which he called "weird" and rare, wasn't LSU's fault and praised his medical team for taking great care of him.
As part of his rehab work, Nussmeier said he has focused on using his body to rotate through his passes — something he couldn’t always do last season. The rust has been evident at times. Nussmeier didn’t particularly appear sharp in Tuesday’s practice, his first of the week. His first drop back in team drills, for instance, led to the ball being knocked out of his hand after Illinois defensive end Gabe Jacas won quickly off the edge.
But Nussmeier has entered the week with an open mind. His — the offensive coordinator for the Saints — has given him advice on how to navigate this process.
Nussmeier, though, said he’s not out to “prove” anything at the Senior Bowl. He said he just wants to show that he belongs at the next level and show that “Garrett Nussmeier is enough.”
He’ll get an opportunity this week as a quarterback for the American Team, coached by Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas and other Saints assistants.
“A healthy, confident Garrett Nussmeier is a good player,” he said.