ESPN Analyst Predicts LSU Football's Garrett Nussmeier Will Win Heisman Trophy

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier enters a critical 2025 season in Baton Rouge with all eyes on the Tigers heading into the year.

Nussmeier is coming off of a productive first season as the starting signal-caller for the Bayou Bengals after patiently waiting his turn to earn QB1 reps.

The second-year starter joined Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow as the only players in program history to eclipse the 4,000-yard passing mark last year when he accounted for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first year as a starter.

Now in his fifth season at LSU, Nussmeier enters his senior season ranked No. 9 in program history for career passing yards (5,772) and tied for No. 5 in passing touchdowns (40).

But expectations are rising for Nussmeier as he gears up for the 2025 season with College Football Playoff conversations erupting alongside Heisman Trophy talk.

ESPN's Louis Riddick believes Nussmeier will win the 2025 Heisman as he prepares to make a jump in his second season as the starter.

“I’m going to go with Garrett Nussmeier,” Riddick said via Get Up. “He’s going to be the one who’s in control. He’s the one who has the ball in his hands every single play. He’s uber-talented. He’s super smooth, makes great decisions, really poised in the pocket and he’s in control of his own destiny. I kind of like that. I kind of like what he brings to the table.

“I’ve seen Cade Klubnik play, I don’t think he’s going to be a Heisman Trophy favorite. I get to see LaNorris Sellers early in the season. Garrett Nussmeier is the pick for me though right now.”

Riddick isn't the only ESPN analyst that believes Nussmeier will be the top quarterback this season with SEC Network's Jordan Rodgers echoing the same sentiment.

“I think Garrett Nussmeier is the best quarterback in the entire country,” Rodgers told Paul Finebaum earlier this summer. “I think he is ready for a monster year, and partly because of who he is and what we saw from him last year. I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks under pressure. He’s be able to create, navigate the pocket, throw off platform, be accurate in tight windows.

“I love the pieces they went out and got to put around him. You’ve got Nic Anderson from Oklahoma, who’s a 6-foot-5, big target. I think they have so much speed. They needed a guy that can really win one on one matchups with size.

"Then, they got Barion Brown, a guy that was underutilized at Kentucky in the last couple of years. And obviously, Aaron Anderson and Chris Hilton. The speed they have, the talent they have around him — I think he’s poised for a special year now.”

LSU will open the 2025 season at Clemson in what will be a Top-10 matchup on the road for Brian Kelly's crew.

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