After sitting for three years, Garrett Nussmeier finally got his first start as an LSU Tigers against Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It feels like Nussmeier has been on the team forever, and every time he came in he showed us glimpses of his talent, but we finally got to see his skills on full display on Monday.

Nussmeier started the game a bit shaky in the first half, but as he and the Tigers rallied back from a 14 point deficit, Nussmeier made some throws that were just downright impressive.

Nussmeier all but locked up the starting job in 2024 with his performance against one of the premier defenses in college football, so I thought we could go through and look at some of the best throws he made during Monday's game.

Personally, I think this was Nussmeier's best throw from the ReliaQuest Bowl.

The Tigers were trailing by seven and had the ball on Wisconsin's 14 yard line with a chance to tie the game at 28. On second-and-seven, Nussmeier took a three step drop, and right as his back foot planted, he launched one down the left sideline and dropped one of the best passes you'll ever see right over the defender's head and into Chris Hilton's breadbasket. It was the perfect mix of touch and accuracy. The ball was placed exactly where it needed to be, and shoutout to Chris Hilton for keeping his foot inbounds. There was very little margin for error on that throw, and if the ball was delivered half a second later, Hilton would've been out of bounds.

All around, it was a great throw and catch and really showed us the arm talent that Nussmeier has.

This throw was one of my favorites. While the Hilton touchdown was the better throw, there's just something about watching a ball fly 50 yards through the air on a rope that makes me feel some type of way.

On this play, the Tigers were down by 14 points, tied for their largest deficit of the game, and they desperately needed to make something happen. With Malik Nabers out, Brian Thomas was WR1, and he did what he's done all year; beat people down the sideline for a big touchdown.

The play was pretty simple. Nussmeier took a couple of steps back, loaded up and just let one rip to Brian Thomas on a go route. This throw traveled about 50 yards through the air and I don't think it could've been placed any better. Thomas didn't have to break stride at all and if he didn't put his hands up, it probably would've hit him in the head. Just a beautiful throw that I thought deserved some recognition.

This throw doesn't compare to the other two in terms of hitting a guy in stride on a deep ball or anything, but I thought this was one of Nussmeier's more underrated throws from the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Down by three with just under five minutes remaining, the Tigers needed to drive 98 yards down the field. On second-and-ten, Nussmeier hit Lacy on the right sideline for a 37 yard gain.

The thing I thought was best about this throw was how he layered this ball. If he threw a bullet, there was a linebacker sitting five yards short of Lacy who would've been in position to make a play. He put the right amount of touch on it to get it over the linebacker, but also just enough zip that Lacy could make something happen after the catch before the other two defenders behind him could make a play on him.

It doesn't truly standout on tape and there are definitely better throws, I just thought that this deserved some recognition because it came at such a clutch moment.

(I couldn't find a video on twitter, but if you go to the 10:53 mark in this video, you can see the play)

Down by 14 in the second quarter, LSU needed to get some points on the board to keep up with Wisconsin. Nussmeier had already led his team to the 47 yard line, and on first down, Nussmeier connected with Lacy on a back shoulder throw for a 21 yard gain.

This is another throw that doesn't look all that special to the naked eye, but I thought it was a very intelligent throw. Nussmeier saw Lacy was blanketed by the corner, so instead of leading him on a go route, he threw a back shoulder ball a little short which made Lacy stop and fade away from the defender to make the catch. By doing so, it turned a contested catch into one where the defender didn't even know the ball was thrown his way until it was caught.

The only knock on this throw is that it could've been a little higher. Lacy had to fall to his knees to catch it, and quite honestly he may have been out of bounds, but I just really liked to see the awareness to know he needed to put this ball behind Lacy for him to make a play on it.

(Clip at the 2:05 mark on the YouTube video linked above for the clip).

This is another play that I think got lost because it was just an 18 yard gain, but I think this was another very slept on throw from Nussmeier.

On this play, Nussmeier had to roll out to his right because of slight pressure on his left side. Then, while on the run (or a slight jog I guess you could say), Nussmeier threw across his body to Thomas, who was moving the opposite way, and put it right on his numbers. He also threw this ball mere inches over the linebackers outstretched hand.

This play once again showed off his touch, but also showed his ability to make throws on the run. A throw that will be forgotten in the grand scheme of things, but one I thought deserved some love.

(Video at 3:28 of highlights video)

This play was very early on when the offense was struggling to move the ball much. Again, it wasn't an insane throw from an arm talent perspective, but this was more of a anticipatory throw.

Mason Taylor ran a pretty standard post route from the inside position. He went about 12-15 yards deep, broke inside, and before Taylor even got around the linebacker, Nuss was already releasing the football.

The linebacker dropped back into a zone, and the second that Taylor hit his blind spot and the linebacker stopped moving his feet, the ball was out. The linebacker didn't have a chance to get to that football, and Nussmeier put a lot of zip on it to make sure Taylor had time to protect himself from the safety who was over the middle of the field.

Also want to give some props to Josh Williams. He's been great in pass protection, but this was one of his better pass blocking reps of the season. He stepped up and completely took the blitzing linebacker out of the play. Great recognition and great blocking from the veteran running back.

(Clip at 0:49 mark of highlights video)

I'm sure there are a lot more throws I could put on this list, but I wanted to add a bit of variety. From these plays alone, you can see the talent Nussmeier has. He has all the arm talent in the world and he's only getting better at anticipating open receivers, throwing to the right spots and throwing on the run.

With another offseason in the system, working with Joe Sloan and taking first team reps, I think Nussmeier could be in a good spot to be a star in 2024.

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