RELIAQUEST BOWL: WISCONSIN VS LSU

January 1, 2024

Garrett Nussmeier

Raymond James Stadium

LSU Tigers

Postgame Press Conference

LSU 35, Wisconsin 31

THE MODERATOR: Proud to introduce our MVP, Garrett Nussmeier.

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: What's up?

Q. The guy in the other color jersey under center, he's having a career day, you're matching him throw for throw. How are proud are you of your performance?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: It's just sticking to the process, sticking to what we work on all the time in practice, going through reps, going through my reads the right way.

Like I said earlier, the amount of athletes we have in the offensive line today makes my job easy. All the credit goes to them and the coaches for putting us in the right play and allowing us to make plays.

Q. On the 98-yard drive to take the lead and win the game

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: I mean, it is what it is. You got to do what you got to do in a football game. Doesn't matter if you have to start from the one, two, get the ball at the 30, you just stick to the process. You go play by play, do the right things, move the chains, move the chains, put the ball in the end zone.

Q. What do you remember about that last drive? Do you remember a specific play that stood out to you?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: No, I'm really proud of us as an offense. That doesn't just speak to me. That speaks to our entire group. Can't do it by myself. To go 98 yards with the game on the line, that means a lot to me. To be the leader of the offense, that matters more than about myself.

Q. To finish the game like this, what kind of emotions did you have?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: God is good. That's how I feel. I'm extremely blessed. I'm extremely thankful. it was a wild ride, but I was ready and I'm very thankful.

Q. Mason Taylor, Chris Hiilton, all these guys you're going to be working with this off-season, all had big impacts on this game. What was it like the share the field with these guys going into the off-season?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Yeah, it was awesome. I think it's huge for us going into the off-season. I thought we were very well-synchronized. Thought we looked good, had great chemistry.

How many yards did Mason have? At least 50. Yeah, okay. Him and Kyren had a great game. BT, Chris, he made a couple plays, too, Aaron Anderson. Everybody is making plays. Like I said, that makes my job easy.

Q. On Chris Hilton's play today

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Yeah, he did an amazing job. I'm super proud of Chris. Like I said, it's big for us going into the off-season, having that to build off, to get better off of, so...

Q. The run game kept you in the game. Stunt plays late. What do you think about the job Joe did?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Yeah, no, I think coach did an amazing job. We've been working on this for two weeks. No, I think he put a great plan together. I think him and Coach Hank put a great plan together. I think he did an amazing job calling the plays, getting us in the groove, getting us opportunities to make plays.

Q. You had a moment with Jayden Daniels on the sideline. Talk about that. What are some things that you learned from him?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: No, I mean, I appreciate our relationship a lot. It was kind of a moment, it was like roles reversed for once, you know what I'm saying (laughter)? I'm used to giving him a high five after he made a Heisman statement or something like that.

It was cool. I appreciate him a lot. I'm grateful for the time we had together.

Q. What's the important piece of this for your confidence?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: I would say it goes to my confidence. I would say I take pride in always being confident, always being ready. I think it's huge for our offense to have the type of game like the way we performed today. I'm stumbling.

The way we performed today is huge going into an off-season. 35 points. It took us a minute, but we got rolling. I think that's going to be a great opportunity for us to build and continue to work throughout the off-season, into Las Vegas.

Q. On getting rolling on offense

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: I mean, it was interesting because you have different guys in there. It's a different group. Me and Jayden are still very different. We're trying to gel, trying to mesh, trying to get it right. I think once it clicked, it clicked, we were rolling, so...

Q. You realigned some receivers on the goal line. What did you see?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: A little bit too into detail to give away our plan.

I just felt like I needed to make a decision, change the protection, give BT a chance to win the ballgame.

Q. How did Harold Perkins handle that?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: We've been working that for a week or so. I wish we would have called a dang play-action off of it. I'm happy for Perk. That was awesome. That was really cool. Perk Heisman 2025, 2024. I think that's the plan we're starting today.

Q. What advice did your father give you?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Yeah, he told me just to go play, just to stick to my process, stick to what I've been working on. I've been blessed with opportunities to play in big games. I got to play against Georgia last year and Alabama this year. It wasn't like I haven't played. I haven't started a game. I felt like I knew what the moment was going to be like and I was prepared.

My coaches and Coach Sloane did an amazing job with that, making sure I was ready, prepared. Coach Dino and all those guys. I'm super blessed, super grateful. God is good.

Q. Coach Kelly has come in and built a foundation. Do you feel like next year is your year?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Yeah, I mean, it's huge. New coach comes to a program, I think most people say the third year is a special year. I'm really proud of the strides our program has made. You see more buy-in.

I think I said earlier in the week, when you have a bowl game nowadays, you got everybody on the roster playing a game, I think that's special. Aside from two guys. I think it's special. It shows the buy-in we created. This win speaks volumes to who we want to be, to get to work, us progress in the off-season.

Q. Malik, to be able to help him get the record, what was that like?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Meant the world to me. That's my brother. I love him to death. When Malik first came in, he was kind of overlooked. People didn't really expect that of him. We all knew it. We all knew he was special. I'm so proud of him. He worked his tail off and he showed everybody, so...