Tag: Ju’Juan Johnson

LSU taking advantage of freshman Ju’Juan Johnson’s versatility

Ju’Juan Johnson was recruited as a defensive back, but the high school quarterback is being used on offense as well.

This is a story about how, if you are a really good athlete with a great work ethic, you can find your way on the field at LSU. [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag] was one of the most productive quarterbacks in Louisiana high school football history but he did not sign with LSU to play quarterback. He signed as a defensive back.

Now, he has been moved from the secondary to the backfield as the Tigers look for some depth at the running back position after [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] was ruled out for the rest of the season. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] was recently asked about the position change and here is what he had to say.

“We knew on offense there were enough roles that we could get him involved,” Kelly said, per On3. “So he’s going to play some running back, some slot receiver. He can do a lot of different things and we can craft an offensive structure around him. And what we’ve found out is he picks things up really well.”

Johnson could find himself getting a lot of playing time in the backfield as well as being a slot receiver.

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5 takeaways from LSU’s win over Nicholls State in Week 2

LSU is in the win column in 2024. Here are five takeaways from the Tigers win over Nicholls.

LSU football got its first win of the 2024 campaign as the Tigers returned home to host Nicholls State on Saturday night. Brian Kelly’s group took some time to find their footing, but LSU pulled away in the second half for a final score of 44-21.

It was the opening night for Tiger Stadium’s 100th anniversary season and Tiger fans were treated to a brand new video board, new LED lights, and an improved sound system.

On the field, LSU QB [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] led the way with six touchdowns. Three of those went to WR [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag], who paired the scores with five catches for 65 yards.

LSU is still waiting for its run game to wake up, with [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaleb Jackson[/autotag] pacing the team with just 19 yards apiece.

It was a thrilling day around the sport, but luckily for Tiger fans, LSU avoided the chaos.

The win should help stabilize LSU as it opens conference play against South Carolina next week. Here are five takeaways from LSU’s win over Nicholls State.

Sloppy start for the Tigers

LSU expects to have its way with an FCS opponent. That’s not what happened in the first half and it was another sloppy start for the Tigers.

LSU picked up a first down but failed to score on the first drive. The offense eventually picked it up, but it wasn’t smooth sailing the first two quarters.

The bigger concern was on the defensive side of the ball. Nicholls was more physical than LSU up front, methodically moving down the field and controlling the football.

Nicholls didn’t throw a single incompletion in the first half and LSU didn’t do much to make the Colonels uncomfortable.

The first half was capped with a special teams error as [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] pushed a field goal right.

A few injury scares

You want to exit these buy games healthy, but LSU had a few scares on Saturday night.

Nussmeier and Lacy both left the game to receive attention from the trainers. Both players returned, but seeing two key pieces on the sideline wasn’t a welcome sight for LSU fans.

The bigger concern is defensive tackle [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag], who left the game and was later seen in a cast and wheelchair.

LSU is already thin at defensive tackle and Guillory is the only proven DT on the roster. If LSU is without Guillory for an extended period of time, it changes the outlook for LSU up front.

Ju’Juan Johnson makes his RB debut

[autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag] has played running back for just a few days, but you wouldn’t know that if you saw him on the field Saturday.

Johnson was a QB in high school and recruited as a DB, but with LSU’s RB growing thin, the Tigers are giving Johnson a shot. He was involved early on Saturday night, getting his first touch on LSU’s second drive.

Later in the half, Johnson caught a pass and made a few defenders miss. Not long after that, Nussmeier found Johnson for a score.

Johnson is no stranger to having the ball in his hands. He was a star quarterback at the high school level, after all.

We’ll get a better idea of LSU’s plans for Johnson next week. Were the Tigers just using an FCS opponent to get him some reps or does he factor into LSU’s rotation in conference play?

Aaron Anderson continues to emerge

We knew Lacy, [autotag]CJ Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] would factor into this offense, but there was suspense surrounding LSU’s fourth receiver.

[autotag]Chris Hilton Jr.[/autotag] was the obvious candidate, but he’s missed the first two games with an injury. In Hilton’s absence, [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] has stepped up,

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said the redshirt sophomore had a breakout game last week and Anderson produced again on Saturday night. The numbers weren’t gaudy, but Anderson caught five passes for 63 yards.

LSU doesn’t need Anderson to be a gamebreaker, but he’s on pace for a 762 yard season after two games. That’ll do.

Questions remain entering conference play

LSU got it together in the second half, but there will be anxiety entering conference play. LSU’s SEC schedule gets underway with a road trip to South Carolina next week. The Gamecocks impressed on Saturday with an emphatic win over Kentucky.

If South Carolina repeats that performance and LSU comes out flat again, LSU won’t like the result next week.

LSU should feel good about its passing game, but health at receiver is a minor concern. The run game is the biggest question on LSU’s offense. The depth at RB is worth monitoring and LSU’s offensive line will be tested again next week after it struggled against USC.

On defense, LSU is still working out its rotation in the secondary. LSU likes what it has with [autotag]Ashton Stamps[/autotag] and [autotag]PJ Woodland[/autotag] at corner, but both are young and mistakes are inevitable.

Up front, the Guillory injury complicates things even further.

LSU’s ceiling is still the College Football Playoff, but its impossible not to ask a few questions after LSU’s 1-1 start.

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LSU pulls away in second half to beat Nicholls in home opener

It was closer than the Tigers would have hoped, but they earned their first win of the season with a 44-21 victory over Nicholls.

It was certainly closer at times than LSU would have liked, but coach Brian Kelly’s team pulled away in the second half to beat Nicholls State 44-21 in its Week 2 home opener on Saturday night. The Tigers move to 1-1 heading into its SEC opener on the road against South Carolina, which will host College GameDay next week.

Nicholls, a ranked FCS opponent facing LSU for the first time in program history, held its own for a while. The Colonels trailed just 23-14 at halftime and cut the Tigers lead to just two early in the third, but some offensive explosion was enough for them to avoid a much scarier conclusion.

[autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] was strong in this game, completing 27 of 37 passes for 302 yards and six touchdowns. It was a good thing he was that productive because the ground game was non-existent.

The Tigers managed just 64 yards on 21 carries, with no back exceeding 19 yards individually. That’s a concern, especially with the season-ending injury to [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag]

Freshman defensive back [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag], who moved to running back this week, helped bridge that gap and caught a touchdown pass out of the backfield. [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag], who was injured in the first half but returned, caught three touchdown passes and totaled 65 yards in the receiving game.

After giving up a big day to USC, LSU’s defensive concerns were far from alleviated in this game. While it held Nicholls under 300 yards — just barely — quarterback Pat McQuaide was efficient and avoided turnovers while Collin Guggenheim went off for 145 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

While Lacy was able to return, LSU didn’t escape the game entirely unscathed from an injury perspective. Veteran defensive tackle [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag] exited the game, didn’t return and was later spotted on the sideline in a wheelchair with his leg in a cast.

That would be a major loss if it proves to be for a significant period.

It wasn’t exactly the performance the Tigers were hoping for, but it gave them their first win and something to build on with a South Carolina matchup looming that suddenly seems tougher than expected.

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Brian Kelly ‘sick’ about John Emery Jr. injury, remains confident in running game

Despite losing its leading rusher in Week 1 for the season, Brian Kelly thinks the ground game will prove to be a “strength” for the Tigers.

Entering the 2024 season, running back looked to be a major question mark after last year’s two leading rushers — quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag] — both moved on.

Now, the depth is going to be tested even more as [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag], who led the team in carries and yards in Week 1 against USC, is done for the year after suffering a torn ACL in practice on Tuesday.

On Thursday, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said he felt “sick” for Emery, who battled injuries and academic suspensions earlier in his career but earned his degree from LSU and was expected to play a major role after briefly entering the transfer portal in the offseason.

“We feel pretty good right now where we’re at in terms of the running back position,” Kelly said. “Obviously, we feel sick about John, sometimes you think about this and just wonder, how can this be fair in any way to this poor kid? He’s just overcome so many obstacles and he’s in a non-contact situation and he sticks his foot in the ground and he tears his knee up.

“It was so disappointing and we feel so bad for him and his family. But John has overcome so much, I’m so proud of what he’s accomplished and getting his degree from LSU. He’s going to be successful in life and we’ll see what the future holds for him.”

Kelly added that Emery underwent successful knee surgery on Thursday.

Despite the injury, Kelly remains optimistic about the run game, which will now rely even more on players like [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Kaleb Jackson[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag]. He even went as far as to say he believes it will ultimately be a strength.

Kelly also added that true freshman cornerback [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag], who also played all over the field on offense in high school, will get some reps as the fourth running back, as well.

“I like what we do, I like our players up front,” Kelly said. “I’m very confident that as time goes on, the offense, and in particular the running game, is going to be the strength.”

The running game had some success in Week 1, totaling 113 yards on 25 carries. But the Tigers know they need more out of the rushing attack moving forward, and now, that room is even thinner than it was coming into the year.

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LSU experiences drama-free early signing day

It’s the most wonderful time of the year in more ways than one.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year in more ways than one. Happy early signing day.

LSU entered the day with 27 commitments and as of noon CT, all of those commitments have signed their name on the dotted line.

The only signing that LSU has not announced yet is the signing of four-star athlete and MaxPreps Louisiana Player of the Year [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag]. As you can see in the video below, he has signed with LSU, the Tigers just haven’t tweeted it out yet.

For many years, there has been an air of uncertainty around signing day regarding players getting cold feet and changing their minds at the last minute but that was not the case today. The Tigers class is currently ranked as the No. 13 overall recruiting class by 247Sports. It would be the first recruiting class that [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has signed that finished outside the top 10.

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Former LSU cornerback commit pledges to Florida State

Cai Bates decommitted from the Tigers after taking a visit to Tallahassee last month.

Four-star cornerback [autotag]Cai Bates[/autotag], a one-time LSU commit, completed his flip to Florida State on Friday.

The Edgewater (Orlando) prospect committed to the Tigers back in July following an official visit to Baton Rouge the prior month. He remained locked in through most of the football season, but he announced his decommitment on Nov. 13.

That decision came just two days after Bates took a visit to Tallahassee to see the Seminoles’ game against rival Miami.

A top-10 cornerback in the 2024 class and top-100 prospect nationally, Bates was one of LSU’s highest-rated commits before he eventually exited the class last month.

LSU’s 2024 class currently ranks 13th nationally per On3 and 14th per 247Sports. It features three cornerback commits with [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Wallace Foster[/autotag] and [autotag]Bernard Causey[/autotag].

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4-star LSU cornerback target announces commitment date

One of the best cornerbacks in the 2024 recruiting class has announced his commitment date.

One of the best cornerbacks in the 2024 recruiting class has announced his commitment date. The four-star corner from Waco, Texas, has trimmed his final list of schools down to five, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] is working on taking a four-star cornerback in the heart of Texas. [autotag]Kobe Black[/autotag] is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound cornerback who plays for Connally High School. The Connally Cadets finished the 2023 season 8-4 with a loss to Jasper in the second round of the playoffs.

LSU currently has 26 commitments for the 2024 recruiting class with three of those commits being cornerbacks. (four-star [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag], three-star [autotag]Wallace Foster[/autotag] and three-star [autotag]Bernard Causey[/autotag]). Johnson recently broke the Louisiana state record for yards of total offense in a career last Friday.

Black currently has received multiple crystal balls to Texas and the Longhorns are a 95% favorite to land him per On3.

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LSU commit breaks Louisiana high school total yards record

Last Friday, Ju’Juan Johnson broke the Louisiana state record for total yards on offense.

Last Friday, [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag] broke the Louisiana state record for total yards on offense as he led Lafayette Christian Academy to a 57-21 win over McDonogh 35. The previous state record for career total offense yards was set at 13,659 yards.

That record was set by Brock Berlin at Evangel Christian Academy. His record stood for 24 years until Johnson finally broke it

The Lafayette Christian Academy Knights are currently 10-2 and are preparing for a third-round playoff game at home this week. Johnson is a 5-foot-11, 190-pound, four-star cornerback in the 2024 recruiting class. He committed to LSU on May 15 and he is projected to play cornerback once he gets to Baton Rouge.

He is the starting quarterback for the Knights and he is very successful as he is usually the best athlete on the field. Johnson has even tweeted out asking some of the LSU coaches if he can sub in at quarterback to throw some passes.

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LSU commit Ju’Juan Johnson breaks Louisiana high school yards record

LSU commit Ju’Juan Johnson broke a 24-year Louisiana high school football record as he recorded his 13,662 yard of his career on Friday.

Lafayette Christian Academy (La.) quarterback Ju’Juan Johnson entered the Div. II Select quarterfinals on Friday needing 351 yards to break the all-time Louisiana yards record of 13,659 set last century.

With a three-yard run in the fourth quarter, he did so, finishing the game with 13,662 yards to break the 24-year record set by Brock Berlin of Evangel Christian in 1999.

According to the Daily Advertiser, the LCA coaching staff entered the game with the intention of Johnson setting the mark. Sounds aggressive? You’re forgetting that nobody in Louisiana has ever recorded more yards than him. Through 11 games, Johnson averaged about 364 yards per contest, according to MaxPreps stats. That goal was below his usual output.

By the end of the first half, Johnson was well on pace after recording 234 yards and three touchdowns, according to the Advertiser. He finished with 354 yards and six total touchdowns to lead LCA over McDonogh 57-21 and advance to the semifinals.

The team presented Johnson with a championship belt and announced that his number, No. 7, would be retired at the end of the season, the news outlet reported.

“God blessed me with so much talent. I’m thankful for Him, I’m thankful for my coaches and my teammates,” Johnson said. “It means a lot knowing that everybody around me, my support wall, it means a lot for them to be around me and celebrate a great moment.”

Johnson was previously committed to Colorado until April 2023. LSU pounced, fending off offers from other top schools, including Florida, and earned his commitment.

The star has played quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back in high school and will play in the secondary at LSU.

With that, the all-time Louisiana yards leader may be recording the last of his yardage. But he still has at least one more game to add to his record.

LCA will face off against Teurlings Catholic (Lafayette, La.) in the semifinals with a trip to the championship game on the line.

BREAKING: Four-star cornerback Cai Bates decommits from LSU

The Tigers lost a key piece in the 2024 class on Monday night.

After some nice recent wins on the recruiting trail, LSU suffered a pretty substantive loss on Monday night as four-star Edgewater (Orlando) cornerback [autotag]Cai Bates[/autotag] decommitted.

Bates ranks within the top 100 nationally, per the 247Sports Composite, and he was the second-highest-rated committed player in LSU’s 2024 class prior to his decommitment. Bates committed to LSU on June 26 following an official visit days earlier.

With Bates’ departure from the class, LSU’s group of 2024 commits now ranks 14th nationally per 247Sports and 12th nationally per On3. Between Bates and [autotag]Ondre Evans[/autotag], LSU has lost both of their top 160 cornerback commits in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

LSU still has a trio of cornerback commits in four-star [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag] and three-stars [autotag]Wallace Foster[/autotag] and [autotag]Bernard Causey[/autotag]. There is no clear favorite to land Bates now, though Florida State, Alabama, Tennessee and others remain in the mix.

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