Scooter Hobbs column: Nussmeier feels right at home in Lake Charles

Published 11:58 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if Garrett Nussmeier is Lake Charles’ adopted favorite son or if Lake Charles is Nussmeier’s adopted hometown.

Or maybe it doesn’t matter who made the first move.

Either way, it was an arrangement that was working out fairly seamlessly last weekend when the LSU quarterback was back in the city which he proudly calls home.

“Lake Charles was really the only constant place in my life that stayed with me as we moved from place to place,” said Garrett who was born here but bounced around to a dozen or so places while following his dad Doug’s coaching career. “That’s why I call it home. This place means the world to me.

“This is the reason that I chose to go to LSU. This created that home feeling for me in the state of Louisiana.”

It’s why he chose Lake Charles for his first major autograph session while earning his NIL keep, and the city reciprocated by turning out in waves.

And, of course, it was another good excuse to see family like his grandmother, “Ganno” Hebert with his aunt and self-proclaimed No. 1 fan, Heather.

He’d been at it almost two full hours Saturday and, even with a brief pause during a pop-up rain shower, the line of fans still stretched out the front door of PJ’s Coffee and well into the shopping center’s parking lot.

They kept coming and coming, wave after wave, all to see and be seen with Nussmeier.

Mostly youngsters, of course, but the meandering line came in all shapes and sizes, boys and girls running the gamut in age and excitement, often whole families at a time.

Some seemed too young to know what an LSU is, let alone who the school’s starting quarterback might be.

The toddlers seemed to know something was up, and they liked it, even if they weren’t sure why they liked it or who that tall guy was. `

The sweet spot seemed to be elementary and middle-school age, generally making their orderly way through the que with wide-eyed wonder but not the least bit intimidated.

The high-schoolers wanted the autograph, for sure, but seemed intent on maintaining their proper cool about it.

And, of course, there were some very-grown adults who might have been embarrassed to be in this line unchaperoned by kids.

But all got Nussmeier’s undivided attention, often punctuated with a gentle fist bump, a meaningful encounter if you will, with LSU’s first starting quarterback from Lake Charles since 1899.

The line seemed never-ending.

But Nussmeier wasn’t complaining.

Signing autograph after autograph, well, that’s what he signed up for. Most wanted a picture taken with him, too.

No problem.

He remembers when he was at the other end of that line.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I was in their shoes. As a kid I always looked up to all my dad’s players and all the college playrs.e So,   definitely, I give back any chance I can to those kids.”

For his first three years at LSU, Nussmeier was best known for his patience, biding his time, nose to that ol’ grindstone without complaint while waiting his turn to be the Tigers’ QB1.

Mission accomplished. Persistence paid off.

Now it seems there aren’t enough hours in the day during a very hectic summer, the lead-in to his fifth and final season as a Tiger.

He had a longer reign as LSU’s (very patient) heir apparent than most.

It’s a very different summer when you’re the Tigers’ returning starter after throwing for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns last season.

The first order of business was picking up his diploma in May.

He got engaged to longtime girlfriend Ella Springfield.

He roomed with Texas’ Arch Manning at the Manning Passing Academy. They compared notes on waiting one’s turn. “Great dude, great player,” Nussmeier said. But he was just as excited to be around Archie, the patriarch of the famed quarterback family.

“Mr. Archie is the best,” he said. “Look at what all he’s accomplished … and not just in football.”

A week later, Nussmeier  represented LSU at SEC Media Days in Atlanta, and was named the second team quarterback on the preseason all-conference team (Arch was third team).

With August training camp approaching, Nussmeier is being mentioned as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.

A Saturday autograph seeker reminded him that the last two LSU quarterbacks who started a second season, Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels, both brought home the Heisman.

Meanwhile, the line is still stretching out the door.

No complaints, however, from the center of attention.

“It’s been different, definitely  been a little bit different,” Nussmeier said. “But it’s something that I’m thankful for. I’m very blessed. I prayed for this opportunity and to be in this position, I’m very thankful and just try to do my best to pay back for everything.”

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Scooter Hobbs covers LSU athletics for the American Press. You can reach him at scooter.hobbs@americanpress.com