There’s a good chance that for the first time since Joe Burrow was a preseason third-team All-SEC selection in 2019, an LSU quarterback is going to covet an all-conference honor in July. That’ll be Jayden Daniels. If he earns first- or second-team honors in the preseason poll, it’ll mark the first time an LSU quarterback got that type of preseason love since JaMarcus Russell in 2006.

And yet, I’m more intrigued by Garrett Nussmeier.

That’s not meant as a slight to Daniels, who turned himself into one of the SEC’s better quarterbacks after a strange ending as a 3-year starter at Arizona State. The Tigers were a better team in the latter half of 2022 thanks in large part to Daniels developing in the offense after arriving on campus mid-spring.

But the unknown of Nussmeier makes him one of the most intriguing SEC players heading into 2023. What’s next for him is anyone’s guess.

Of course, we’re currently in the middle of the spring transfer portal window. In the SEC, Nussmeier couldn’t transfer to another SEC school and play immediately without receiving a waiver. That’s what the league’s current rule says about the spring window. He could, however, decide that he doesn’t want to wait behind Daniels another year and transfer out of the conference in hopes of playing immediately.

In today’s NIL world, nobody should consider that a shock, especially for someone who’ll be NFL Draft-eligible at this time next year like Nussmeier. Given the skill set and his dad’s ties at the next level, one would think it won’t take a whole lot of starts for him to get on the NFL radar.

In the meantime, Nussmeier is more focused on just getting regular reps. More specifically, he’d probably like to get some more meaningful reps like the ones he got in place of an injured Daniels against Georgia in the SEC Championship. The best QB performances against the national champs in 2022 came from CJ Stroud and Nussmeier, who did his damage (294 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) in 1 half of action.

There was a consensus takeaway from Nussmeier’s performance that day — dude can absolutely sling it.

He’s fearless. I’m not gonna say he has some Brett Favre in him because that can be taken in a variety of ways these days, but you get it. Gunslinger status confirmed.

The biggest knock on Daniels is that he’s sometimes a bit too afraid to make a mistake. In the first part of 2022, it felt like Daniels didn’t put faith in the loaded group of LSU pass-catchers. With Nussmeier, that’s never going to be an issue.

Of course, the other side of that is that Nussmeier might have some 3-interception games in his future. Unlike Daniels, he’s not going to turn a 3-and-10 with 4 covered receivers into a 13-yard gain with his legs to keep the chains moving.

You’d think with their skill sets that Nussmeier, who gave LSU a pulse in that aforementioned SEC Championship when it fell behind 35-10 in the first half, could turn into the “we need a rally” quarterback. But at the same time, Daniels already showed he could be that guy. He led LSU to 4 second-half comeback wins last year. His poise in those moments might’ve been the difference between a middle-of-the-pack finish in the West and a division title.

So then how does Nussmeier stay involved if both quarterbacks are healthy?

No, I’m not about to suggest that Brian Kelly needs to operate some sort of 2-quarterback system. Rotating QBs in and out during meaningful games seems like an easy way to prevent both from getting into a rhythm.

But besides bringing him into games as soon as LSU gets a 3-touchdown lead in the second half, what about giving Nussmeier the start in Week 2 against Grambling State? Make that announcement in spring. Give Nussmeier something to look forward to. Also, it would give Daniels a chance for a built-in bye week coming off the short week with the Sunday night opener against Florida State. Give Nussmeier a chance to truly run the offense and game plan like he’s going to be the starter.

If he stays at LSU, his time is coming. Shoot, it could benefit him to get a week like that under his belt in a season with actual aspirations, unlike the lost 2021 season that he was part of.

Given how team-first Daniels has been, you’d think a veteran quarterback would understand the long-term benefits that a move like that could have, and not treat it as a threat to his starting job. If Daniels, who had more rushing attempts than any FBS quarterback in 2022, gets hurt then LSU will hopefully have Nussmeier to turn to in order to keep the ship afloat.

The transfer portal departure of Walker Howard certainly magnified the importance of Nussmeier’s next step. Obviously, the urgency to keep him in Baton Rouge has never been greater, especially after the promise he showed in Atlanta.

Nussmeier has a knack for keeping his eyes downfield in more ways than one. This is the same guy who didn’t want to play in LSU’s 2021 bowl game because it would’ve pushed him past the 4-game redshirt threshold (that rule has since been changed to not count bowl games against that total). Whether his development played a role in Myles Brennan’s surprising fall retirement in 2022, well, you can decide that for yourself.

A choice awaits the promising Nussmeier, as well as Kelly. Can they both make it work at LSU?

Here’s hoping.