John Emery Jr. spent a full season wishing he could be on the field with the Tigers in 2021. So he wasn't going to let a nagging injury keep that from happening this week.
While not specifying what was ailing the senior running back out of Destrehan, new LSU coach Brian Kelly said Emery was playing at "less than 100%" in the game. Begging the question: Why was he on the field at all?
"He wanted to go because he was like, ‘look, I’m gonna get banged up during the season. I want to know what it’s like not to play 100%, because I’m not going to be 100%,’ " Kelly said. "Just kind of that mindset says a little about him. He wanted to get out there."
Emery was impressive in limited action, rushing for 24 yards on his four carries, much of which came early on as the offense struggled to find its footing. It also can't be dismissed that there's no guarantee of a role in the new system brought in by Kelly, and the backfield is filled with impressive, athletic and powerful runners who rolled up 214 rushing yards and made some impressive contributions in the passing game. A majority of those players are holdovers from the Ed Orgeron Orgeron era, including Emery, and have spent the spring making a first impression with Kelly and his staff that could factor big heading into the 2022 season.
The group that saw the field on Saturday includes:
- Emery: 4 carries, 24 yards
- Tre Bradford: 9 carries, 86 yards; 2 catches, 30 yards
- Armoni Goodwin: 9 carries, 71 yards, TD
- Josh Williams: 10 carries, 53 yards; 1 catch, 27 yards
- Corren Norman: 1 catch, 55 yards, TD
LSU's new coaching staff didn't get all the answers they'll need this spring, but what was shown by the running game -- and the blocking ahead of it -- will instill some confidence in an area that Kelly pointed to as one of the biggest in need of improvement from a year ago.
Leading rusher Ty Davis-Price has now departed as he takes his shot at the NFL, but Emery is largely an unknown commodity. He showed flashes as a highly recruited freshman, rolling up 188 yards rushing and 4 TDs on 39 carries, but didn't take much of a step forward in 2020, logging 378 yards and 3 TDs on 75 carries, along with 73 yards receiving on 14 catches. His progress was raved about by Orgeron prior to the 2021 season, but he ultimately never played due to academic issues and a failed legal battle aimed at overturning the decision.
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Emery's eagerness to get on the field this season, his willingness to gut through whatever was ailing him and his effectiveness in doing so will likely serve him well as he angles to get his career back on track in 2022.
"Those backs run really hard," Kelly said. "You’ve got to tackle. You’d better get our backs on the ground. You saw that today."