SEC Media Days 2025: LSU Stars Preview High-Stakes Clash at Clemson
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As SEC Media Days kicked off Monday at the Hall of Fame and Omni Hotel at Centennial Park in Atlanta, there was buzz surrounding one of college football’s most anticipated opening weekend matchups: LSU vs. Clemson, August 30, primetime, Death Valley (the one in South Carolina).
It’s a clash of Tigers and likely a pair of top 10 teams, and two of the nation’s premier quarterbacks — LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik — are set to headline the showdown in what could be a Heisman résumé builder from the very start.
For Nussmeier, the road trip to the Palmetto State presents more than a marquee television slot.“I’d say it’s more of a welcoming of that opportunity,” Nussmeier said. “To go into a place like that on primetime television at 7:00 and just put it all out there — that’s why you play the game.”
The redshirt senior quarterback enters his second full season as the Tigers’ QB1 with national expectations swirling and a star-studded receiver group in tow. But when asked about the hype of a potential quarterback duel with Klubnik, Nussmeier downplayed any individual focus.
“It’s LSU versus Clemson,” he said. “That’s what I’m focused on. There’s no me versus Cade or anything like that. Cade is an unbelievable football player… but this is about our team.”
LSU has lost five straight season openers — a stat that’s hovered around the program in recent years. Nussmeier didn’t shy away from it.
“There’s no hiding from that fact. That’s something we’ve acknowledged and accepted,” he said. “I think we’ve changed the way we think in order to make that correction.”
Helping him shift that mindset this offseason is fifth-year senior Chris Hilton Jr., who returned to form late last season after injuries stalled his promising career. In the Texas Bowl, Hilton flashed the player LSU coaches had long believed in, catching four passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
“Last year, everybody was raving about how good a player Chris was,” Nussmeier said. “Then the injury… but I’m super proud of the way he attacked his rehab. At the end of the year, you saw the Chris Hilton we were talking about. Chris is a special player."
Hilton joined Nussmeier in Atlanta and echoed his quarterback’s excitement about LSU’s receiver corps, which is deep, fast, and suddenly headlined by more than just returners. LSU brought in Oklahoma transfer Nic Anderson and Kentucky’s Barion Brown, creating what might be the fastest wideout room in the country.
“We don’t have a receiver that runs over a 4.4,” Nussmeier noted. “That’s exciting. A lot of versatility, a lot of speed.”
Anderson, a 6-foot-4 vertical threat, was recently involved in a car accident — a detail revealed by head coach Brian Kelly earlier Monday — but is expected to recover.
“He’s a very electric player,” Nussmeier said of Anderson. “Makes unbelievable plays on the ball. For him and me, it’s just about building chemistry. That’s what the summer and spring have been for.”
Hilton expects the group to light up defenses and put on a show in the end zone.
“We’re going to be really dynamic, very explosive,” Hilton stated. “You’re going to see a whole bunch of dances, a whole lot of celebrations.”
Hilton, now one of the team’s veterans, has watched Nussmeier grow from backup to the face of the program. “The biggest thing I’ve seen from him is he took a big step being a leader,” Hilton said. “Not just leading the offense, but leading the whole team. The sky’s the limit for him.”
The two will take their chemistry and leadership on the road in six weeks, into a hostile environment they both seem eager to embrace.
“I’ve never been to Clemson, so I’m excited to play there,” Hilton said. “I heard the atmosphere is electric. It should be a good game. I’m pretty sure you all heard… the main focus in our building has been: Win Week One. So that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
And on August 30, the nation will be watching.
