For LSU football, it was already a tense enough preseason camp to have Tiger fans ready to bite through glass.
But two things happened this past week that had the anxiety meter pegging the needle, making an already sweaty August even worse.
First came the word (rumor) that Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier had suffered a devastating knee injury Wednesday in practice. Sources, and finally LSU coach Brian Kelly himself, dispelled the notion, though something had clearly happened. Then there were the developing legal issues for backup running back JT Lindsey.
Kelly said Friday that basically, Nussmeier has been dealing with chronic tendinitis in his knee, and that he tweaked it during practice. Nussmeier was, reporters were told, back out for practice Friday — the practice session was closed to the media at a late hour, adding to the mystery. He practiced fully in front of reporters Saturday, though he came up limping at one point after a scrambling run.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a thigh bruise and 10 being your season is over before it begins, Kelly called Nuss’s knee a “1.5.” But the cold tsunami of anxiety that swept over LSU fandom was a 10. Perhaps, as Nigel Tufnel of “Spinal Tap” might have said, the unease may have gone to 11.
Lose Nussmeier and you can kiss goodbye LSU’s hopes of contending for a national championship or even making the College Football Playoff. One is left to conclude that this particular issue won’t be what sidelines Nussmeier if anything does. But it does raise the question of how LSU deals with him.
Taking off and running more often — not at a Jayden Daniels-like pace, but more than Nussmeier did in 2024 — has been thought to be part of the gameplan this season. Does his knee situation change that? Kelly said they won’t practice differently with Nussmeier, no trying to protect him beyond the red non-contact jersey he and the other quarterbacks already wear. But will he more likely to stay in the pocket than everyone was led to believe?
As for the whole injury story gone wild, one is left to wonder how these things happen. Someone watching/working at practice Wednesday told someone who posted an even wilder story on a message board and the fuse was then lit. But how does it go from what was clearly a minor ailment to a full-blown structural issue requiring surgery?
Quite simply, it’s the age in which we live in. Everyone wants to be “in the know,” but while legitimate news organizations are unpopular in general, they remain the best way to find out if something is serious or fantasy.
Here’s something serious: the charges against Lindsey that he housed two murder suspects in his on-campus apartment, charges that Friday led Lindsey to turn himself into LSU police. The charge is called accessory after the fact.
Lindsey’s attorney, former LSU football player Kris Perret, told The Advocate his client didn’t know the two men were wanted. Police in Alexandria, where the murder of Corey Brooks took place in May, expressed skepticism that Lindsey was unaware of the case considering he, Brooks and the two suspects all went to Alexandria Senior High, plus the case’s media coverage. In any respect, Lindsey is suspended from the LSU team until the charges against him are resolved.
While Lindsey’s future with the team is uncertain, the Tigers’ present situation is quite clear. LSU is down to just three scholarship running backs — Caden Durham, Kaleb Jackson and freshman Harlem Berry — plus Ju’Juan Johnson. He’s listed on LSU’s roster as a quarterback but is a multifaceted player who can play a variety of positions. Johnson may be pressed into a running back role more than anyone could have anticipated.
LSU’s thinning depth at running back — Trey Holly transferred to Southern earlier this summer — is one of the most pressing issues facing the Tigers heading into the season. LSU must have an effective running game to balance the offense. The Tigers didn’t have that in 2024, when they were last in the SEC with 116.4 rushing yards per contest.
Both situations — Nussmeier’s knee and LSU’s running back depth — are stark reminders of how tenuous the Tigers’ bid for potential greatness is in 2025.
