Brian Kelly explains LSU’s plan after Bryce Underwood ditched his pledge to the Tigers | LSU

LSU football had the perfect legacy.

Whether or not redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier would return to the Tigers in 2025, LSU had the ideal man to replace him when he left for the NFL.

Five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2025, appeared to be the perfect bridge to lead the LSU offense into a new era.

But with Underwood flipping his commitment to Michigan less than two weeks before the early signing period that opens Dec. 4, the Tigers are now left in a less comfortable spot when it comes to the future of the position.

“At the end of the day, we want people who want to be here,” Nussmeier said Saturday, “who want to come and play for coach (Brian) Kelly, who want to come play for LSU, want to represent the purple and gold. (They) actually care about the three letters (and) that it actually means something to them.”

Underwood would have been the first high school quarterback to arrive on campus as the No. 1 overall player in the nation. Instead, LSU is left searching for its next star at the position, even if Nussmeier returns.

Kelly said during his radio show Monday that he is “hopeful” Nussmeier will return to LSU next season.

“I think we’re always going to look at taking a quarterback every year, and we’ll most likely take a quarterback again this year,” Kelly said Monday.

Deciphering which quarterbacks will be in the transfer window this winter is a difficult task, especially ahead of the start of December. But it’s a path Kelly didn’t close the door on when he spoke to the media on Monday.

LSU could still add a quarterback from the 2025 class. However, 39 of the top 40 quarterbacks in the class of 2025 have given their pledges to other schools, according to the 247Sports Composite.

“We look at the calendar year a little bit differently than just December. We have a signing period in February, we have a transfer portal,” Kelly said, “so we will continue to look at that and see how it fits best with our list. .”

The Tigers already have four scholarship quarterbacks on their roster, including Nussmeier, redshirt freshman Rickie Collins, junior AJ Swann and freshman Colin Hurley. Swann transferred to LSU from Vanderbilt last season, while Collins and Hurley were four-star signees.

A developmental leap from any of the three could put them in position to be LSU’s next starting quarterback. But if that doesn’t happen, and if Nussmeier decides to leave for the NFL this offseason, the Tigers have no choice but to enter the portal for a new signal caller.

LSU wasn’t aggressive on the portal last season, but Kelly said that will change this winter, especially with the imminent arrival of revenue sharing across college football — which Kelly believes will start this summer — and Underwood no longer putting a dent in its NIL budget.

LSU offered Underwood $1.5 million annually in NIL money, sources familiar with the deal told The Advocate. CBS Sports reported earlier in November that Michigan offered Underwood a NIL deal worth a total of about $10 million.

“We’ve really put ourselves in a position, and I’ll use that term loosely, to keep us well under the hood so we can be pretty aggressive this year,” Kelly said.

When it comes to the rest of the LSU roster, Kelly noted that “the overall roster is much more important than any particular position.” He has a point; The Tigers have personnel questions beyond just quarterback for 2025 and beyond.

Even without Underwood, the rest of the LSU class addresses many of the potential deficiencies on the roster. The Tigers have commitments at every position except quarterback and specialists.

But quarterback is the most important position in sports for a reason. Nussmeier returning to LSU for a fifth season doesn’t change the reality that the Tigers will have to find the next man in line sooner rather than later.

“If we end up taking a quarterback, that’s great,” Kelly said. “But I think our eye is on the strength of the entire roster.”

Staff writer Wilson Alexander contributed to this report.