John Emery Jr. ready to play against Mississippi State, Brian Kelly said

John Emery Jr. will not be limited on Saturday despite missing the first two games for undisclosed reasons.

LSU’s run game struggled in the season-opener against Florida State, but it looked better against Grambling after getting [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag], a Notre Dame transfer who had a big night, back from injury.

The team is getting even stronger at that positon entering Week 3 against Mississippi State as [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag] is set to make his season debut after rehabbing a hamstring injury this offseason. Also set to make his debut is [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag], who was unavailable for the first two games.

Emery spent most of the offseason away from the team focusing on academics, and though he returned midway through fall camp, he hasn’t appeared in a game since last season.

Still, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday that Emery will not have limitations going into Saturday’s game.

“I don’t think he’s going to be limited by a conditioning element, like we had with Maason (Smith),” Kelly said, per On3. “So we feel like he’s ready to play and should be able to impact the game.

“He’s in a much better place than he was last year at this time. Physically, mentally. I wouldn’t say that there’s any comparison to the John Emery from last year to the John Emery this year. He was on scout team for the last, you know, three weeks. He’s physically fit. He’s a plug-and-play guy. I think he’s going to get as many carries as anybody would be in this situation where you have a deep and talented room.”

LSU will hope that Emery’s return in addition to Goodwin’s will spark this run game against an SEC opponent that has played pretty well against the run through the first two games.

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