Tag: John Emery Jr.

PHOTOS: LSU cruises past New Mexico in 38-0 shutout

The Tigers earned their first shutout since the 2018 season on Saturday night.

The Tigers earned their first shutout win since the 2018 season on Saturday night.

In their Week 4 contest against New Mexico, they thoroughly dominated in a 38-0 victory that gave the team its third-straight win since a disappointing Week 1 loss to the Florida State Seminoles.

You couldn’t ask for a much better game from LSU. It accounted for 633 total yards as [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] was very efficient passing the ball once again, and [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag] and [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] headlined a rushing attack that totaled more than 200 yards on the ground.

Meanwhile, it was a futile night on offense for UNM, which was held under 100 yards by a quickly improving LSU defense.

The win gives the Tigers a lot of confidence heading into the bulk of their SEC gauntlet. Next weekend, they hit the road for their first true away game against an Auburn team that narrowly survived at Jordan-Hare Stadium in overtime against Missouri on Saturday.

Here were the best photos from the big win over the Lobos.

Instant Analysis: Tigers shut out New Mexico for third-straight win

The Tigers outgained the Lobos 633-88 in a 38-0 blanking.

LSU delivered another impressive performance in its last tuneup before it enters the meat of its SEC schedule in Week 4. The Tigers blanked the New Mexico Lobos in a 38-0 win as they move to 3-1 on the season.

Coach Brian Kelly’s team has now won three-straight games since dropping its season opener against FSU in New Orleans.

It was about as dominant a performance as you’ll see at this level of football. Though the final tally on the scoreboard wasn’t anything spectacular, LSU outgained the Lobos by a stunning 633-88 margin, entirely controlling the game on both sides of the ball.

The offense looked sharp once again, and it was another efficient performance from quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], who completed 24 of 29 passes for 278 yards. He didn’t find the end zone through the air or on the ground, but he is still yet to throw an interception this season.

Early in the third quarter, Daniels exited the game and entered the medical tent with an apparent injury. He left the tent and grabbed a helmet, seemingly being cleared to return, but the game was already out of hand and the coaches would hold him out as a precaution.

In his place, Garrett Nussmeier looked much better than he did in his previous action against Southern in Week 2. He completed 9 of 10 passes for 135 yards and a 57-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag], who finished with three catches for 76 yards.

With [autotag]Kayshon Boutte[/autotag] out, [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] unsurprisingly also played a big role in the passing game, leading the team with 65 yards on six catches. Kelly also said the team wanted to work on getting the ball in Jack Bech’s hands, and the result was a seven-target, six-catch night in which he totaled 43 yards.

Jaray Jenkins (five catches, 57 yards), Kyren Lacy (four catches, 41 yards) and freshman tight end Mason Taylor (four catches, 34 yards) all made impacts, as well.

The ground game was dominant once again. In total, the Tigers managed 219 yards headlined by [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag], who led the team in both yards and carries with 94 on 11 attempts. He found the end zone twice, including a 49-yard touchdown. Daniels contributed as well with nine attempts for 37 yards.

[autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] saw an increased role in his second game back from suspension, leading the running back room in carries with nine for 45 yards. [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag] got the start and had just 24 yards on eight carries, though he also scored twice.

I could be even more effusive in my praise of LSU’s offense, but the defense deserves just as much credit for holding New Mexico to double-digit yardage. True freshman linebacker Harold Perkins continues to demonstrate his versatility, leading the team in tackles with eight.

[autotag]Greg Brooks Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]West Weeks[/autotag], [autotag]Ali Gaye[/autotag] and [autotag]Saivion Jones[/autotag] all notched a sack, as well.

This wasn’t a very good New Mexico team, but it’s never easy to shut out an opponent in college football. That should give the Tigers a ton of confidence as they prepare for their first true road game of the year against an Auburn team that survived a wild overtime game against Missouri on Saturday.

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What should we expect from John Emery Jr. in his return?

Emery will make his long-awaited return from academic suspension on Saturday night.

[autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] will make his return on Saturday night when LSU takes the field against Mississippi State.

Emery missed all of 2021 due to academic qualification issues. Just when we thought that was all in the past, Emery had to sit out the first two games of 2022, but [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has said the recent suspension relates to what happened with Emery before this staff took over.

Emery began his career in 2019 as a highly touted five-star. He was stuck behind [autotag]Clyde Edwards-Helaire[/autotag] in 2019, but when he got his chance, he looked good.

In 2020, Emery had good games, including a 124 total yard performance against Vanderbilt, but never quite broke out. He is now a senior but has another year of eligibility left after this one due to the NCAA granting athletes a fifth year of eligibility amid the pandemic.

After all this time, Emery will get another chance. The homegrown five-star will play his first game since December 2020. What should we expect?

Earlier this week, Kelly tempered expectations, acknowledging that it might take some time for Emery to warm up considering the extended absence.

It would not be surprising to see [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag] get the most carries this week, but Emery should be right there.

If Emery comes out hot, he’ll get the ball more and more. LSU’s offense needs to find another dimension, whether it’s working the middle of the field through the air or establishing a ground game. Emery could certainly help with the ladder.

That ability is still there, and while LSU could have used Emery in 2021, there shouldn’t be much wear on his tires. He should be fresh and ready to run.

He’s the most complete back on LSU’s roster. He can run inside and out. He’s got the physicality and the speed. He’s shown he can factor in as a receiver, too.

Emery has something to prove. That can bode well for a player of his talent level. Tiger fans should expect him to be locked in and all off-season, this staff has seem ready to make Emery a central part of this offense.

He might not set the world on fire this week, but that’s okay. Given some time, Emery should become the player he was expected to be when he arrived in 2019.

Saturday has been a long time coming for Emery. Now, he just has to play football.

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Report: LSU safety facing four-game academic suspension

The Advocate’s Wilson Alexander reports that Foucha’s suspension regards academic issues stemming from his transfer.

When LSU took the field on Sunday night for the first game of the Brian Kelly era, there were a lot of new faces wearing Tigers uniforms. However, transfer safety [autotag]Joe Foucha[/autotag] was not among them. We now know why.

According to a report from Wilson Alexander of The Advocate, Foucha is facing a four-game academic suspension stemming from his transfer to Baton Rouge from Arkansas. Foucha, a fifth-year senior and New Orleans native who started 33 games with the Razorbacks, was expected to be a starter in the defensive backfield this offseason.

That’s why it came as a surprise that reports from camp indicated Foucha had fallen to second on the depth chart behind [autotag]Major Burns[/autotag]. Now, we may know why.

Running back [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] (two games) and cornerback [autotag]Raydarious Jones[/autotag] (season) also currently face academic suspensions.

The Tigers have a litany of new additions in the secondary, and starter or not, Foucha was a key part of the plans at the position. Without him, the unproven group will be even thinner.

Wilson reports that his suspension is being appealed and could be reduced. As things currently stand, Foucha is slated to make his return on Oct. 1 against Auburn.

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LSU junior cornerback suspended for entire 2022 season, per report

Raydarious Jones will miss the entire 2022 season due to academic issues, per The Athletic’s Brody Miller.

The Tigers will be without cornerback [autotag]Raydarious Jones[/autotag] for the entire 2022 season, as he has been suspended due to academic reasons, per a report from The Athletic’s Brody Miller.

In the same article, Miller reports that running back [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag], who missed the entire 2021 season for academic reasons, will be suspended for the first two games this fall.

Jones, a junior from Horn Lake, Mississippi, has been a rotational contributor for the Tigers and enters his fourth season with the team. He saw sporadic action in seven games his first two years, but he appeared in nine games last fall. He notched nine tackles (five solo) and a pass deflection.

He wasn’t expected to play a major role this fall, especially after the Tigers added a trio of veteran cornerback transfers in [autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag], [autotag]Mekhi Garner[/autotag] and [autotag]Sevyn Banks[/autotag], in addition to other returning depth players.

Still, Jones is one less piece in a secondary that features largely new faces heading into the 2022 season.

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LSU running back John Emery Jr. suspended for two games, per report

Emery will miss the beginning of the 2022 season due to lingering issues, according to Brody Miller of The Athletic.

LSU will begin its 2022 campaign without its top running back.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Brody Miller, [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] is expected to be suspended for the first two games of the season — contests against Florida State in New Orleans and Southern in the home opener. Per Miller, the suspension has to do with the academic issues that held him out last season.

The Athletic also reports that cornerback Raydarious Jones has been suspended for the entire 2022 season due to academic issues.

Emery is reportedly in the process of appealing the suspension, arguing that he has been meeting academic standards since coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and his support staff took over in November. LSU expects to know more within the next week, per Miller.

He apparently attempted to appeal the suspension that kept him from playing last season, as well, on the grounds of a number of hardships he faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emery dealt with the death of his grandmother and two separate COVID infections. His stepfather also suffered from COVID complications and was hospitalized on a ventilator, per Miller.

Emery is a former five-star recruit who was expected to play a major role in 2021 prior to his suspension. In 19 appearances from 2019-20, Emery took 114 carries for 566 yards and seven touchdowns.

With the departure of [autotag]Ty Davis-Price[/autotag] to the NFL, Emery was expected to return to the field this fall and take over the starting role. However, cryptic comments from Kelly a few days ago cast doubt on his availability in 2022.

“There’s obviously things that I can’t talk about,” Kelly said. “He’s in good standing in football. So everything that he’s done, he’s done a great job with us in football.

“Everything that he’s done for us has been outstanding in football. Anything else that arises would not be anything that I can comment on because of privacy rights, so I think you guys can put the rest together.”

With Emery unavailable in the first two contests, LSU will likely rely on Penn State transfer [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag] and [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag], as well as a former walk-on in [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] who has worked his way up the depth chart.

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Should we be concerned about LSU’s running backs?

LSU’s running backs have something to prove as they enter 2022.

[autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] did not play a game in 2021 due to eligibility issues. According to [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag], his eligibility for the season opener remains in question.

Kelly added that he couldn’t get into it, but did expect Emery to contribute to the team this year.

Emery, a former five-star, is now entering his fourth year as a Tiger. This has been billed as his breakout year. If he were to miss some time, a wrench could be thrown into some of those plans. A running back room that already has something to prove would have even more questions.

[autotag]Corey Kiner[/autotag] transferred to Cincinnati in the spring, and [autotag]Tre Bradford[/autotag] is no longer on the roster.

If Emery is out against Florida State, LSU would enter the game with [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag], [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag].

Cain and Goodwin would get the bulk of the touches, but what do we know about them?

In 2019, Cain was one of the best freshman backs in the country. He got hurt in 2020 and struggled in 2021. Reports from camp have spoken highly of Cain, but we’ll need to see it on the field first to believe he’s back to the player he was in 2019.

Goodwin was a top 100 recruit. He has the talent to be a star. He can make people miss on the outside and run between the tackles. He’s a decent receiver, too. He dealt with injuries in 2021 and never really got a chance to prove himself. He’s now a sophomore, but we still don’t really know who he is.

Even with Emery healthy, it looks like LSU will take more of a committee approach. Kelly said they don’t have that pure feature back on the roster right now.

If you wanted to read into that, you could say that Kelly doesn’t see any one of these guys as a game-changing star. If there were a true difference maker on the roster like that, he would have emerged as the feature back.

I still believe that over the course of the year, we will see one of these guys take the reigns. Emery, Cain, and Goodwin are all too talented for at least one to not break out.

A committee approach would be fine, too. Each one of these backs is different and they all serve a different purpose on this offense.

Kelly and OC [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] have built a lot of their offenses around the run game over the years. They’ll likely want to try and do that again this year.

For that to work, the questions we have about this room need to be answered soon. The talent is there and there are reasons for optimism, but it’s one of the areas worth watching when LSU takes the field against Florida State.

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John Emery Jr.’s status unclear entering season after cryptic comments from Brian Kelly

Kelly declined to comment on Emery’s availability entering the season.

Though much has been made about LSU’s quarterback competition, the ground game is really where the team needs to improve the most on offense this fall.

Last year, the team ranked second to last in the SEC in rushing with just over 109 yards per game, finishing ahead of only Mississippi State, which runs the air raid. That won’t cut it in 2022, and after leading rusher Ty Davis-Price’s departure for the NFL, it’s a fair area of concern.

LSU is hoping to have a piece it didn’t have access to last time around in [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag], a former five-star recruit who missed all of last season due to academic ineligibility.

Emery was expected to return this fall, but after coach Brian Kelly’s press conference on Saturday, that has been called into question.

“There’s obviously things that I can’t talk about,” Kelly said. “He’s in good standing in football. So everything that he’s done, he’s done a great job with us in football.”

Asked specifically about Emery’s status entering the season, Kelly once again deflected.

“Everything that he’s done for us has been outstanding in football,” he said. “Anything else that arises would not be anything that I can comment on because of privacy rights, so I think you guys can put the rest together.”

Emery was a solid contributor during his first two seasons, reaching 378 yards and three touchdowns during his last available season as a sophomore in 2020. His presence became even more important after [autotag]Corey Kiner[/autotag] transferred to Cincinnati.

However, it remains unclear whether he will join the Tigers when they take the field against Florida State on Sept. 4, and if he isn’t available, LSU will likely rely on Penn State transfer [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag], as well as players like [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] to carry the running game.

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Where LSU’s quarterback competition stands after Myles Brennan’s retirement, per USA TODAY Sports

Jayden Daniels seems poised to win the job after Myles Brennan’s retirement.

LSU has seen one of the tightest quarterback battles in the land, with neither of the three candidates separating themselves during spring ball.

The fall has been a bit of a different story, however, and we now have a lot more clarity about the situation after sixth-year quarterback [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag] announced that he would leave the program and hang up his cleats when he was informed he would not be the starter.

Reports from practice leading up to Brennan’s decision indicated that [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag], the other two competitors, were splitting first-team reps.

Many assume that Daniels is now the frontrunner to win the job. A transfer from Arizona State, he brings three years of starting Power Five experience to the table, with most of it being positive. However, you can’t count out Nussmeier, who had some positive moments down the stretch in 2021 and was arguably the most impressive passer in the spring game.

USA TODAY Sports provided an update and predictions for several of the remaining high-profile quarterback battles, including LSU’s. Here’s the latest intel.

The competition lost a third contender with Myles Brennan’s decision to end his playing career. That leaves Daniels, who was new coach Brian Kelly’s pick from the portal, and Nussmeier, who had a very strong spring but has seemed to fade from contention in this key quarterback battle. If Kelly is more interested in experience and reliability in his first run through the SEC, Daniels’ multiple years starting at Arizona State could give him an insurmountable edge.

Prediction: Daniels. He may be on a shorter leash than most SEC starters, especially if the Tigers start slow in Kelly’s debut. If he does struggle, Daniels could be replaced by Nussmeier as LSU looks for an offensive spark. But after a down 2021, Daniels’ play should rebound when surrounded by the Tigers’ skill talent.

Certainly, an offense with players like [autotag]Kayshon Boutte[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Bech[/autotag], [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag] should be an improvement from what Daniels had to work with in Tempe, and he does seem like the safest bet to win the job after Brennan’s departure.

Daniels’ experience should allow him to start the opener against Florida State, but if he struggles, it may not take much for Nussmeier to get a chance.

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LSU running back Tre Bradford no longer on the team

Kelly said that Bradford is “separated from the university” and has been removed from the roster.

Running back is one of the deepest position groups on the roster for LSU, but it will be down one man from that group this fall.

Junior [autotag]Tre Bradford[/autotag] was removed from the Tigers’ roster, and after the first day of fall camp on Thursday, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] confirmed that he is no longer with the team. The reason behind his departure remains unclear.

“Tre has been separated from the university,” Kelly said. “There are luckily laws that I can’t get into specifics there but he is no longer on the roster.”

The 6-foot, 210-pound native of Dallas was entering his third season in Baton Rouge. Following his true freshman season in 2020, he briefly transferred to Oklahoma but opted to return to LSU shortly before the 2021 season began.

He played in just one game last fall, taking two carries for 11 yards in the regular season finale against Texas A&M. In two seasons with the Tigers, he had 12 carries for 69 yards in six appearances.

While Bradford’s departure hurts the depth in the backfield, LSU still has a very talented group in [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag], [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag]. The running game should be able to take a step forward in Year 1 under Kelly.

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