The next stop on the Garrett Nussmeier Is Healthy Tour will be March 23 in Baton Rouge, when LSU holds its Pro Day. And for Nussmeier, the quarterback who entered 2025 with first-overall draft pick potential and hype, it will be the latest opportunity to shove his final college season into the background as an aberration.
Nussmeier will be one of several LSU players of note at Pro Day, a list that includes cornerback Mansoor Delane, receiver Zavion Thomas and linebacker Harold Perkins.
Nussmeier, the son of New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, was named Most Valuable Player of the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl. That followed an injury-plagued final season at LSU that fell short of expectations — 194-of-288 passing for 1,927 yards and 12 touchdowns, with five interceptions, in nine games. In 13 games as a junior he completed 337 of 525 passes for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions, and ran for three touchdowns.
The difference, Nussmeier admitted, was an abdominal injury he suffered in training camp that never properly healed during the season.
"My injury occurred in fall camp — Day 2, practice two of fall camp," Nussmeier said during an interview at the NFL Combine in February. "How much did it affect me? I think it was pretty evident. I really wasn't able to throw the football. I had a stabbing pain in my ab every time I went to go throw the ball. And we weren't able to figure out exactly what it was.
"It was a frustrating deal, and it wasn't LSU's fault. It wasn't the doctor's fault. They did a great job of taking care of me and the trainers there. It was just a rare deal. It was just a thing that we really didn't figure out what it was until about two months ago."
Now healthy, Nussmeier earned MVP in the Senior Bowl and also didn't hesitate to throw at the Combine, though he did not participate in the athletic testing.
Pro Day on Monday will provide answers to questions that NFL teams may still have regarding the quarterback.
There may not be many, if any, questions to answer for cornerback Mansoor Delane. One of the top cornerback prospects in the draft, Delane didn't participate in athletic testing at the Combine but finished last season with two interceptions, 11 passes defensed and 28 solo tackles. As a junior, he intercepted four passes and defensed seven.
Receiver Zavion Thomas, who prepped at John Ehret High in Marrero, blistered the 40-yard dash in 4.28 seconds at the Combine, second-fastest among receivers. He played at Mississippi State in 2022-23; in two seasons at LSU, Thomas caught 64 passes for 706 yards and six touchdowns, and ran for 175 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. He also returned 25 punts for 655 yards and a touchdown, and 31 kickoffs for 219 yards at LSU.
Perkins has been an intriguing prospect since he burst onto the scene as a freshman (7.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, an interception, two passes defensed and four forced fumbles). He nearly repeated the numbers as a sophomore (5.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, an interception, five passes defensed and three forced fumbles), had an injury and drop in production as a junior, then bounced back as a senior with four sacks, three interceptions, eight tackles for loss, three passes defensed, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
He didn't participate in on-field drills at the Combine but had meetings with NFL teams, including New Orleans.
