Garrett Nussmeier isn’t Jayden Daniels.

He doesn’t have the same set of skills that Daniels has.

And he’s probably not going to win the Heisman Trophy as Daniels did last season.

But all of that could be just fine with LSU if its new starting quarterback proves to be just the best version of himself in 2024, beginning against USC on Sunday night in Las Vegas.

It’ll be fine if Nussmeier takes his 3 years of experience as a backup – the past 2 behind Daniels, the first behind Max Johnson – and performs as a mature, even-keeled leader of a team ranked No. 13 in the AP preseason poll.

It’ll be fine if he uses his unusually strong arm to enable a talented group of receivers to guide an offense that probably won’t be No. 1 in the country, as the Tigers were last season, but still be really good.

It’ll be fine if he focuses on what he has control over and trusts that a very good offensive line and a deep stable of running backs can pick up part of the slack caused by Daniels’ departure that Nussmeier is not capable of picking up.

Nussmeier isn’t going to be LSU’s leading rusher, which Daniels was for each of his 2 seasons, and he won’t have Logan Diggs, the top rusher among running backs last season, who transferred to Ole Miss.

But he does have experienced rushers in Josh Williams, Kaleb Jackson and John Emery Jr. as well as highly regarded freshman Caden Durham — the No. 6 rated RB in the 2024 class.

And there’s that offensive line that has 4 returning starters with a combined 111 starts, including one of the top tackle tandems in the country in Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr.

Campbell made it clear this week that he expects the Tigers’ running game to be just fine, allowing Nussmeier to focus on what he does best.

“We’re going to run the ball,” Campbell said. “That’s not something we’re hiding or trying to keep quiet.”

It will be easier for Nussmeier to be comfortable if a new defensive coordinator (Blake Baker) and a new defensive line coach (Bo Davis) help produce a defense that reduces the number of points that the offense has to score to produce a victory compared to last season.

While Nussmeier should be secure that he has a lot of help around him, he still needs to take care of his business. Primarily that means shedding the persona of being a gunslinger and making better decisions. His career numbers reflect the mindset: 129-for-219 for 1,720 yards and 11 TDs with 7 interceptions. He threw for 395 yards and 3 TDs (with a pick) in a bowl win over Wisconsin to close last season, and put up 295 yards and 2 TDs (with a pick) in a loss against Georgia in 2022.

Nussmeier’ father, Doug, who’s entering his first season as quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, played quarterback in the NFL and the CFL and has a lengthy resume in coaching quarterbacks and coordinating offenses in college football and the NFL.

Garrett arrived between the most productive quarterback in LSU history (Joe Burrow) and the second-most productive one (Daniels) at a time when DBU was flirting with becoming QBU.

But Nussmeier’s mission shouldn’t be to enhance the program’s sudden reputation as a producer of Heisman Trophy quarterbacks because he’s not Daniels or Burrow. Even though he has the 9th-best odds to win the Heisman in 2024.

LSU has won national championships with quarterbacks such as Warren Rabb (1958), Matt Mauck (2003), Matt Flynn (2007) and, of course, Burrow (2019). Each quarterback, in different ways, was the right quarterback for his team and his time.

The LSU quarterbacks who never won a national championship include Y.A. Tittle, Bert Jones, Tommy Hodson, JaMarcus Russell and Daniels.

Nussmeier’s mission is to facilitate LSU earning a berth in the first 12-team Playoff and directing a lengthy stay. He can do that with statistics that don’t rival those of Burrow or Daniels.

Reaching the championship tournament is every team’s goal at the start of every season. Every quarterback’s job is to lead his team – on the field and off – in a manner that allows it to reach its maximum potential.

We don’t know exactly what the 2024 LSU team is capable of in Nussmeier’s first season a starter.

Nussmeier appears to be a savvy, strong-armed leader that has an appreciation of the opportunity he has inherited and earned.

If he can show the judgment and patience that he demonstrated in resisting the temptation to leap into the transfer portal in search of greener pastures and bide his time at LSU, he should do just fine.

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