This was the Garrett Nussmeier everyone expected to see last season. The one rolling out to his right and flicking a ball 45 yards downfield. The one who could drift away from pressure and still place balls along the opposite sideline. The one holding his arm up for an extra second to celebrate another deep completion.

At LSU’s pro day Monday, Nussmeier looked much more like he did when he was healthy than when he played with an abdominal injury last year. As he went through a script that required him to reach all levels of the field and make several off-platform throws, Nussmeier completed 69 of his 72 passes. He said afterward he feels fully healthy again.

“I’m feeling pretty good getting back to being myself,” Nussmeier said. “It has been, obviously, a long process of trying to do that, but I feel great. I felt like today, I kind of showed that in a sense. I kind of showed who I am when I’m healthy and able to actually throw the ball.”

For Nussmeier, the past few months have been about proving that. He said he felt a “stabbing pain” in his abdomen on the second day of preseason camp last year while he and his receivers practiced routes on air. He played in nine games anyway until he aggravated the issue a few days after LSU benched him in the second half of a loss to Alabama, ending his career.

“It was just a freak deal,” Nussmeier said. “As I said before, I’m still not gonna get into the specifics of what the injury actually was, but it was just kind of a freak deal and an unfortunate thing.”

Everything since then has focused on trying to show NFL teams the faults in his redshirt senior season could be chalked up to the injury. The injury made it difficult for Nussmeier to rotate, and he said he “created a lot of bad habits as well throughout the season, just trying to get the ball out of my hand, just doing whatever I could to get it out.” He completed a career-high 67.4% of his passes, but he only threw for 1,927 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions.

“This last year didn’t go the way we wanted it to, the way we had hoped, and I’m sorry that we couldn’t reach those expectations,” Nussmeier said. “As frustrating as it was for you all, I understand, it was just as frustrating for me and for the guys in this building.”

After his season ended in early November, Nussmeier began recovering for the pre-draft process. By the time he was able to use his core correctly again, there were nine days before the Senior Bowl. He told reporters at the time he still wasn’t 100% healthy, but he won MVP. Nussmeier worked out again at the NFL scouting combine last month.

On Monday, Nussmeier had one more chance to show teams that he should be one of the top quarterbacks in the class. While Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Alabama’s Ty Simpson are widely expected to be the first two off the board, Nussmeier has a case to be the third quarterback selected next month.

“I’m just telling these coaches that I want to prove that I belong in the NFL,” Nussmeier said. “I want to have an opportunity in whatever way it may be, whatever round it may be. 
I just want a chance to prove that I belong at the next level.”

Nussmeier tried to do that at pro day. Mixing in a variety of routes, he completed 59 straight passes to start his throwing program. Nussmeier’s personal coach occasionally simulated pressure, forcing him to move off his spot and change arm angles. The ball had his usual velocity on it again. He twisted without issue. His three incompletions came on overthrows to his right.

Next month, Nussmeier plans to watch the draft in New Orleans. He wants to be somewhere close to the Saints’ facility so his dad, Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, can come see him after he gets selected.

“I don’t know if I can fully describe how I’m going to feel when my name gets called,” Nussmeier said. “I’m just looking forward to any team that’s going to give me an opportunity.”