"I’m fully behind him 100%": Garrett Nussmeier shrugs off Brian Kelly's hot seat status with latest remark at Manning Passing Academy

Garrett Nussmeier is returning for one last season at LSU in hopes of leading his team to the national championship. It was a disappointing campaign for LSU last year, wrapping up the regular season with a 9-4 record. Most importantly, they failed to make the playoffs, and Brian Kelly found himself on the hot seat again.

Things are getting real as Kelly enters his fourth season as head coach of the program. Supporting his head coach, Nussmeier claims he has complete faith in Kelly and that the team is progressing on the right path.

One of the biggest goals heading into a new season is to win the SEC championship and find a spot in the extended 12-team college football playoffs.

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“Coach Kelly’s an unbelievable coach, and I’m fully behind him 100%,” Nussmeier said to On3's Pete Nakos at Manning Passing Academy on Friday. “I fully believe in what he teaches and what he preaches. He does an unbelievable job with us. It’ll come to light this year. I can’t wait for people to see that,” he added.

Similarly, the team is going through a season opener curse, losing all of their season-openers in the last five years, something that neither Nussmeier nor Kelly is proud of.

"We lost the last five Week One openers, and we know that,” the quarterback said to Nakos. “We’re not hiding from it. We talk about it, we’re open about it and we accept that it’s a problem. We know that we have to find a way to fix it. It’s still a little early to be scouting and things like that. I know our coaches have." "For us as a team, it’s more of having a 1-0 mindset. Not just about who we’re playing, but we’re preparing to win the first football game, no matter who we’re playing,” he added.

Garrett Nussmeier is hyped up about LSU's loaded roster in 2025

The Tigers will meet Dabo Swinney's Clemson in the season opener at home. This time, they are hoping for a win, especially after Kelly managed to bring in Barion Brown, Nic Anderson and Destyn Hill to bolster the wide receiver unit via the spring transfer portal. Moreover, he also made strides in the 2025 recruiting cycle with top athletes across the country.

Nussmeier believes the roster looks stronger than ever, and 2025 is crucial for the program to reinstate its mark as an SEC giant. Being a potential No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft and a Heisman contender, lots of responsibilities fall on Nussmeier's shoulders.

Edited by Gio Vergara