These 10 Tigers could have a breakout season in 2022.
Going 11-12 over the last two seasons didn’t sit well with decision-makers in Baton Rouge. For that reason, Ed Orgeron was shown the door in favor of Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly. He has shown the ability to win wherever he goes but the title still eludes him.
Turning the LSU Tigers around isn’t going to be an easy task but Kelly understood he couldn’t rebuild this team through the recruiting class alone. He would need to dip into the transfer portal to get instant impact players for this team.
However, they still have plenty of impact players on the roster. Guys like Kayshon Boutte are known commodities. He will be the top target on the offensive side of the ball. What about the breakout guys?
LSU Tigers Wire breaks down their list of 10 breakout candidates:
This would be a solid addition if LSU were to pursue.
The LSU Tigers are still looking for a running back in the 2022 recruiting class. They lost out on Trevor Etienne, who decided he would head to Gainesville to play for the Florida Gators and Billy Napier.
The jury is still out on whether or not TreVonte’ Citizen will re-commit to the Purple and Gold as the final signing period nears in early February. The four-star running back is among the top 10 backs in the country. Citizen still has the Tigers in the mix with Auburn and Florida still looking to add him to their classes.
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If Brian Kelly and associate head coach Frank Wilson strike out again in the 2022 recruiting class they could look to add one through the transfer portal. The top back, Zach Evans, already pledged to the Ole Miss Rebels but there is a former target that has suddenly become available if LSU wants to kick the tires.
According to Matt Zenitz of On3, Penn State running back Noah Cain has entered the transfer portal. Cain rushed for 350 yards on 106 carries with four touchdowns. The third-year back for the Nittany Lions is looking for a new home in 2022.
Cain was a four-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting class out of the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He was also rated as a top 100 player of the class. Cain has low mileage for a running back that spent three seasons in a program. He has accumulated 219 touches for 972 yards and 12 touchdowns in his Penn State career.
The LSU Tigers offered Cain in the 2019 class but ended up signing Ty Davis-Price and John Emery Jr. With TDP’s exit, that could open up a spot for him. Cain and Emery would be a good one-two punch along with Corey Kiner and the rest of the backs in the room.
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A glimpse of the future for LSU in the Texas Bowl.
The backfield is going to look a lot different when the LSU Tigers take the field against Kansas State. Not only did starting quarterback Max Johnson decide to transfer but now starting running back Ty Davis-Price is gone.
On Friday the junior running back decided to opt-out of the bowl game in preparation for the NFL draft. This leaves the Tigers without both starters and not a whole lot of experience. It remains to be seen who the quarterback will be in on Jan. 4, but we should have a really good idea about the running back.
Won’t Play: John Emery Jr, Junior
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
The unfortunate situation involving former five-star running back John Emery Jr prevented him from playing in 2021. However, heading into 2022 he will likely be the featured back. He has the most experience of any of the backs on the roster both current and future. Emery has a career total of 699 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns.
LSU hasn’t added a running back in the 2022 recruiting class as of yet but they have to feel good about either Tre’Vonte Citizen of Lake Charles or Trevor Etienne of Jennings, Louisiana.
As the Texas Bowl draws near, we look at the running backs that could be on display against the Kansas State Wildcats.
Emery’s latest appeal was denied again by the NCAA.
LSU running back John Emery Jr. has had his latest appeal to overturn his academic ineligibility denied by the NCAA, per Ross Dellenger. “Emery’s attorney plans to pursue other options, source says. For now, he remains ineligible this season,” Dellenger tweeted on Wednesday.
It was officially announced two weeks into the season that Emery would miss the rest of the year because of his academic status. John Emery Jr. finished second on LSU in total rushing yards in 2020 (378 rushing yards, three touchdowns) behind Tyrion Davis-Price. He was expected to have significant playing time along with Davis-Price this season.
The NCAA denied #LSU RB John Emery’s latest appeal to overturn his academic ineligibility, sources tell @SInow.
Emery’s attorney plans to pursue other options, source says. For now, he remains ineligible this season.
It appears that the team will have to rely on Ty Davis-Price, Corey Kiner, Armoni Goodwin, Josh Williams, and hopefully Tre Bradford. No word on if he will be ruled eligible at this point in time.
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This was a major blow for the LSU running game that has struggled this season through four games. They are dead last in the SEC in yards per attempt and rank 124th out of 130 FBS teams.
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The LSU Tigers running back room takes a major blow with the news of John Emery Jr.
There were high hopes for former five-star running back John Emery Jr in th Jake Peetz offense. The expectation being that Peetz would use Emery in similar regard that he used Christian McCaffrey with the Carolina Panthers. That is now out the window.
Emery has missed the first two games of the season due to an academic issue and head coach Ed Orgeron previously stated that it was a week-to-week thing. On Monday the head coach announced that Emery is done for the rest of the season, a massive blow to an offense struggling to run the football.
The team has used fellow junior running back and 2019 signee, Tyrion Davis-Price. He has been hampered with injuries during camp but started both games for LSU this season. In two games he has accumulated just 68 yards on 21 carries.
The offense recently used Armoni Goodwin and Corey Kiner in the run game as well, with similar results. There is also Josh Williams. Kiner scored the first rushing touchdown of the season against the McNeese Cowboys on Saturday night.
It appears that those four running backs will likely have to carry the load after being dealt a blow with the Emery news. The only other back that could be in the mix is Tre Bradford, who re-enrolled after leaving Oklahoma a few weeks back. Orgeron stated that he expects Bradford to be eligible for the game on Saturday.
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The injury report and which LSU Tigers are likely to miss the home opener on Saturday.
One of the worst parts of the loss to UCLA last Saturday was not just the game itself. The LSU Tigers lost several key players due to injury. The team will be without both starting tackles on the offensive line. On defense, they lose one of their key defenders for the upcoming game.
If there is a silver lining to this story, it is that it comes against an FCS opponent rather than in the thick of conference play. Who is out for Saturday’s game against the Cowboys? We break down the injury report and players are likely to miss due to non-football situations.
Injuries: Who is on the injury report
(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Quarterback, Myles Brennan: Out indefinitely (arm)
Offensive Tackle, Austin Deculus: Out Saturday (shoulder)
Defensive End, Ali Gaye: Out Saturday (undisclosed)
Defensive Tackle. Glen Logan: Out indefinitely (foot)
Wide Receiver, Malik Nabors: Questionable Saturday (shoulder)
Safety, Jay Ward: Doubtful Saturday (undisclosed)
Offensive Tackle, Cam Wire: Out Saturday (undisclosed)
The LSU Tigers will also be without three players, two on offense due to academic issues. John Emery Jr is the only player that is still listed as questionable for Saturday’s home opener.
Head coach Ed Orgeron spoke with the media and addressed the eligibility of running back Tre Bradford.
In the latest part of the Tre Bradford return to LSU story, we have the growing question of if and when he can return to the team. Late on Tuesday night, it was reported by Geaux247 that he had enrolled at LSU and would rejoin the football program.
When speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron commented on when Bradford could resume football activities for the team.
“Not yet. That’s up in the air right now,” Orgeron responded when asked about Bradford’s eligibility. “We’re still waiting to get that cleared. Hopefully, we can get him ready to play, but I’m not sure if he’ll be ready to play this week.”
Bradford left the Oklahoma Sooners program just a couple of weeks ago and put his name back in the transfer portal. A tale of the grass isn’t always greener it seems. Not even a year after the former four-star running back from Texas enrolled at LSU, he put his name in the transfer portal following spring camp. Two weeks later he transferred to Oklahoma. Another two months later he was back in the transfer portal.
Bradford only carried the ball 10 times for the Tigers in 2020 accumulating 58 yards. He was expected to be the No. 3 back for the Sooners before leaving the team. The return to Baton Rouge couldn’t come at a better time for the Tigers.
Tyrion Davis-Price had his injuries issues throughout fall camp. John Emery Jr is currently unavailable due to an academics issue and freshman Armoni Goodwin missed the game against UCLA due to an injury. Bradford gives them a backup with game experience. Likely would be the immediate backup to Davis-Price with Goodwin and Josh Williams also being in the mix.
He might be their best option at backup running back behind Davis-Price until the Emery situation gets sorted out. The team needs to figure out something at the running back position given their inability to have a consistent run game in the last season plus.
The staff makes game picks and who could be the x-factors for an LSU Tigers win in week one.
Just over 24 hours away from the start of the 2021 college football season, head coach Ed Orgeron is hoping to lead his team to victory in a familiar place. During his time at USC, Orgeron posted a 6-1 record against UCLA as a member of the staff. As a head coach, he is 0-1 as the lone loss came in the interim season of 2013. He gets a chance to even the score against the Bruins.
Under the current head coach, LSU is 3-1 in season openers. They haven’t opened a new schedule in a true road game setting. In 2017 the Tigers opened up the season in New Orleans, the following year in Arlington, Texas. Both were neutral site games. The last two seasons were played at Death Valley, this time around the Tigers open on the road.
UCLA poses a good challenge and barometer for the upcoming season. The Bruins are a Power Five school with a win already under their belt. Can the Tigers quiet the talk and send a message that last year was an anomaly?
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The staff takes a look at who to watch in the upcoming game
The biggest areas of concern for the LSU Tigers in the opener against the 1-0 UCLA Bruins.
Looking ahead to the season opener for the LSU Tigers, there are some areas of concern with the UCLA Bruins. They knocked off Hawaii in the season opener, 44-10.
Watching that came felt like watching the varsity scrimmage the junior varsity team. The Rainbow Warriors were never really in that game. On the opening drive, the punter kneeled the ball when going for a low snap, it was all downhill from there. The Bruins were in scoring position on the very first snap. Hawaii was down 17-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game.
UCLA would let off the gas a bit in the second half, as they led 31-3 at the half. Facing LSU won’t be near as easy but the Bruins still pose issues for a team getting into their first action of the year.
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Looking at the biggest areas of concern for LSU in the opener:
Projecting how the LSU Tigers’ offensive two-deep depth chart could look for the opener against UCLA.
The LSU Tigers are going back to the offense they ran in 2019. That year Joe Brady dialed it up and the team scored over 48 points per game. Last year under Steve Ensminger and passing game coordinator Scott Linehan, they scored 32 points per game.
Needing a more explosive offense to keep up with the rest of the SEC, head coach Ed Orgeron wanted to go back to Brady’s offense. He brought in two of Brady’s assistants in Carolina with Jake Peetz and DJ Mangas. The duo will bring back that RPO attack that gave defenses fits in 2019 en route to a national championship.
Sophomore quarterback Max Johnson is a dual-threat behind center, so the RPO-based attack will fit his style. He led the Tigers to back-to-back wins to close out 2020 while throwing for 784 yards and six touchdowns. The connection between him and fellow sophomore, Kayshon Boutte, was deadly down the stretch.
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If the running game can get up to speed as well, this offense could be a lot more dynamic than it was a season ago.
Here is how I see the LSU Tigers two-deep roster projection on offense:
