BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier can see why he might appear conceited when periodically imploring teammates to hop on the “Nuss Bus.”

The prolific passer and potential Heisman Trophy candidate, whose ninth-ranked Tigers open the season at No. 4 Clemson on Saturday night, insists he's not that full of himself.

“It is definitely an ironic thing; it’s not me being cocky,” Nussmeier said of the nickname that he first heard in reference to his father, Doug, when the elder Nussmeier was the Washington Huskies’ offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2011.

“My teammates and people who spend time around me know that I wouldn’t speak about myself like that,” the younger Nussmeier said. “I think it’s pretty funny.”

The 23-year-old QB, now in his fifth year in college, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he tries not to take himself too seriously and to keep football fun — even as he focuses intently on doing his part to put LSU in national title contention.

The long road
After getting into four games as a freshman in 2021, Nussmeier said he envisioned starting the following two years before turning pro in 2024.

“I thought I was going to be able to take this place over,” he recalled.

Then his first college coach, Ed Orgeron, was replaced by Brian Kelly. Soon after, transfer quarterback Jayden Daniels arrived from Arizona State and won the starting job in 2022. One year later, Daniels became LSU's second Heisman Trophy-winning QB since Joe Burrow in 2019.

All the while, Nussmeier resisted the temptation to enter the transfer portal and explore lucrative offers from programs where he could step in as the No. 1 QB.

“It was hard to not entertain the idea of being able to go somewhere else and get to play the sport that I love,” he said.

Nussmeier has a personal attachment to LSU and Louisiana, his mother's native state, which he described as "the one constant place in my life” during his father's nomadic coaching career.

His father's guidance also helped him consider the merits of delayed gratification.

“He instilled in me it’s not about how fast you get out. It’s about your process," Nussmeier said, adding that his half-decade commitment to LSU "definitely is a testament to him, and how he raised me and brought me up around the game.”

Nussmeier finally became LSU's starter in 2024, passing for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns — good enough to make him a viable 2025 NFL draft candidate.

Yet he felt he would not have been true to himself if he'd passed up a chance to start as many as six more games in LSU's 102,000-seat Tiger Stadium for a team with College Football Playoff aspirations.

“LSU means the world to me and my family," he said.

Doug Nussmeier, who was part of the 2024-25 Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl winning staff, expresses wonder at how fate has placed him in New Orleans, less than a 90-minute drive from Baton Rouge, for his son's final season at LSU.

“Stuff just doesn’t happen like this when you’re in the coaching profession,” the elder Nussmeier said.

“I’m really proud of him for making a decision he felt best about,” he added. “He’s not living my dream or my wife’s dream; he’s living his dream.”

To Kelly, Nussmeier's story is good for college football.

“He had some tough days," Kelly said. “Perseverance is now part of his makeup. Grit’s a great thing to have in life. You’re going to need it.”

Nussmeier doesn't judge college athletes who haven't shown the type of commitment or loyalty that he has, but he hopes his experience can be instructive.

“Everybody has different paths," Nussmeier said. "If there wasn’t a path for me to get on the field here at LSU, I would have had to make that decision to transfer.

“I hope that some kid will see my story and know that if there is an opportunity to play, even though it’s not easy, it’s worth it."

Heisman hype
Oddsmakers have listed Nussmeier among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy — currently second behind his friend, Texas quarterback Arch Manning.

Were Nussmeier to win it, LSU would become the first program to field three Heisman QBs within seven seasons.

Kelly says Nussmeier has the maturity and experience to handle the hype — particularly after being Daniels' teammate in 2023.

“He lived it. He was part of it. He knew what it looked like,” Kelly said, adding that his main message to players like Nussmeier is that “expectations are set by others and you've got to focus on what's important to you.”

Kelly said Nussmeier has done so by bulking up to become more durable when he runs the ball; by developing chemistry last offseason with what is expected to be a deep, talented and fast receiver corps; by working to limit risky throws; and by refining his timing and technique on shorter, “check-down” throws.

When Kelly scrutinized Nussmeier's body language on short throws last season, he said it looked like his QB was thinking: “I didn’t get a chance to throw it down the field. So, you take it."

“We just changed the way he thought about it,” Kelly said. "It’s not a touchdown? So, make it a good checkdown.”

Nussmeier said he'd be grateful to be in the Heisman conversation this season but stressed that he's “really just focused on winning a national championship.”

“That’s the reason I came back,” he said. "That’s the reason I’ve been going so hard every single day and I truly believe we have the team that can accomplish that.”