Garrett Nussmeier sprained an ankle on Saturday in LSU’s win over South Carolina, but coach Brian Kelly doesn’t think it will affect his availability moving forward.
Kelly said on Monday that Nussmeier did not suffer a high ankle sprain. The injury is more of a “medial” sprain, he said.
“And we feel like he’s going to be fine,” Kelly said.
Nussmeier, LSU’s second-year starting quarterback, has now suffered three known injuries this season. In preseason camp, he aggravated knee tendonitis and strained his abdominal muscles. Kelly didn’t reveal the latter injury until after the No. 10 Tigers (5-1) defeated Florida on Sept. 13.
Against South Carolina, Nussmeier looked healthier than he did in LSU’s previous game against Ole Miss. The Tigers had an open date between those contests, and Kelly said they used it to make sure the fifth-year senior didn’t overwork his injured core.
Nussmeier, according to Kelly, didn’t throw during the off week, which allowed him to feel fresher for practices ahead of the game against the Gamecocks. LSU keeps data on Nussmeier’s throws using a GPS tracking system, Kelly said, and all his numbers were improved before Saturday.
“The bottom line is he’s healthy,” Kelly said on Monday. “His ab injury is on the right side of it, where he feels good. He didn’t feel any pain on Sunday coming in, so that’s a really, really good sign for us moving forward.”
Nussmeier completed 20 of 33 pass attempts for 254 yards and two touchdowns against South Carolina, but he also threw two costly interceptions, including one that foiled an LSU drive that reached the red zone.
“I think that that’s an aberration,” Kelly said, “the mistake that was in the red zone, and something that he would immediately say, ‘I should have had my eyes on that safety. Because that’s my read.’
“But I like the version of Garrett Nussmeier we saw. He was a lot more confident. He was a lot more active in the pocket. He had an opportunity to run a couple of times. That’s the version we want. We want to clean up those, what I would call, uncharacteristic mistakes.”
In the Tigers’ six games, Nussmeier completed 66% of his passes for 1,413 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
LSU’s next game is a road battle with No. 17 Vanderbilt that kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC.
Other injury updates
Neither defensive linemen who left LSU’s win over South Carolina early on Saturday suffered major injuries.
Kelly said on Monday that defensive tackle Bernard Gooden has a bruised collarbone and edge rusher Jimari Butler has an ankle sprain. Butler, Kelly said, is “probable” to play against Vanderbilt, and Gooden is “very sore right now.”
“But clean — no break,” Kelly said. “So this is a short-time thing, one where he’ll have to manage the pain relative to how we go through the week.
“I think we’ve got good news on all of the injuries that we had.”
Kelly said that LSU expects left guard Paul Mubenga (high ankle sprain) to return to the field against the Commodores after he sat out the win over the Gamecocks. A few other injuries cropped up in that game, but none of them are expected to force players to miss time.
Running back Caden Durham has a “mild” hip pointer, and center Braelin Moore suffered a stinger that “looked good” in an MRI.
Aaron Anderson — a wide receiver who’s battling elbow, toe and knee injuries — warmed up for the game against South Carolina but swapped out his pads and helmet for sweats before it began. LSU listed him as questionable to play throughout the week, then gave him a game-time decision designation shortly before kickoff.
“(He) looked good,” Kelly said. “We’ll continue to progress with him.”
Kickoff time set
Arguably, the most anticipated home game on LSU’s 2025 schedule will kick off at night.
The SEC revealed on Monday that the No. 10 Tigers’ Week 9 clash with No. 4 Texas A&M will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium on ABC.
The Aggies (6-0) are one of two unbeaten teams left in the SEC. In Week 7, they defeated Florida 34-17 at home. They also have a road win over No. 13 Notre Dame and league victories over Auburn and Mississippi State heading into their Week 8 road matchup with Arkansas.
LSU bounced back from its road loss to No. 5 Ole Miss to defeat South Carolina in Tiger Stadium. Its defense has held five of its six opponents this season to 10 points or fewer.
Each of the Tigers’ first four home games of the season began at night.
