Tag: Tre Bradford

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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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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Projecting every LSU running back’s stats in 2022

Who’s going to step up among a talented group of backs this fall?

It’s projection season. The time when we get to wildly speculate about the upcoming season, even though we know we’re probably wrong. That doesn’t take away the fun.

We’re looking at LSU’s running back room and what the individual stats may look like when it’s all said and done this fall. Running backs are particularly hard because the number of carries each player gets will be determined by the flow of the game.

If LSU is good, it will be up in the fourth quarter and looking to put games away. If the Tigers are playing from behind, there will be plenty of passing and not a ton of rushes. LSU’s RB room is in decent shape, but there are some unknowns.

Will [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] finally break out with health and academic issues behind him? Will transfer [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag] bounce back and look like the 2019 version of himself? Will LSU’s younger guys take the next step and live up to recruiting hype?

That’s a lot of questions, but we have those questions because we expect a lot from these guys. The talent is there, and if it shows, LSU’s offense will get a big boost in 2022.

Let’s look at what we should expect from each guy in 2022, starting with Emery.

Five standouts from LSU’s spring game on Saturday

Here were the players who caught our eye in the spring game.

After what has felt like a long first few months of the offseason, the LSU Tigers finally took the field on Saturday for the first time under [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] for the annual National L Club Spring Game in Death Valley.

There were some key players unavailable — including star receiver [autotag]Kayshon Boutte[/autotag] — and are several intriguing additions that haven’t arrived on campus yet, such as five-star true freshman linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] and Penn State running back transfer [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag].

Still, we were able to answer several pressing questions in our first look at this new Tigers team, and we have a clearer picture on where several position battles stand, including at quarterback.

With that in mind, here were five players who impressed in Saturday’s exhibition, which was ultimately called midway through the fourth quarter as the offense defeated the defense 59-31.

Here’s how LSU’s running back situation shapes up heading into 2022 and beyond

The Tigers have a lot of budding talent at the position, but much of the group remains unproven heading into 2022.

When Brian Kelly initially took the job at LSU, perhaps his most daunting task was to rebuild the roster.

That’s what this is, after all: a rebuild. Building takes time, it was clear the roster wouldn’t turn around overnight.

In a short time, Kelly and staff have done a good job of steering the ship in the right direction. LSU has been active in the transfer portal and has done what it can do on the high school trail.

With all the movement that has gone on, it was easy to miss some things. The roster looks wildly different now than it did in November.

Now that signing day is in the books, we have some time to take a look at how this team is positioned heading into 2022 and the future.

The Tigers look good at some positions such as defensive line and quarterback. There are also position groups that are trending up, such as linebacker and safety. Some question marks remain, though, like cornerback and offensive line.

The pandemic combined with the new transfer rules has presented challenges to managing a roster over the last couple of years, which often involves planning years in advance. Recent turbulence in the sport has forced coaches to adjust.

Here, we’ll focus on the outlook for the running game for the near future.

Final word on LSU-ULM: Tigers injury update

A look at the injury report for LSU

One final look at the LSU Tigers ahead of their primetime game against the ULM Warhawks.

The good news for LSU is that Ed Ingram and Sage Ryan return to the field for the team. Sage Ryan allows Dwight McGlothern and Cordale Flott to man the outside cornerback spots. Ryan will handle all of the nickelback role. Ingram returns to the offensive line at guard. That will help them protect their lone scholarship quarterback.

The offense will be without a handful of impactful players. Cam Wire went down with an injury against Arkansas last week and is done for the year. The team will also be without three of their five running backs. Against ULM the team should be just fine with just Ty Davis-Price and Corey Kiner. Next week they will likely need more than just two.

  • Cam Wire, Left Tackle (done for the season)
  • Josh Williams, Running Back (out)
  • Tre Bradford, Running Back (out)
  • Armoni Goodwin, Running Back (out)

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LSU running back Tre Bradford finally available to play for the Tigers

Tre Bradford could make his season debut against Alabama.

This week the LSU Tigers are preparing to take on the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. On Monday, head coach Ed Orgeron made it known that running back Tre Bradford would be available for the game.

“He’s been eligible,” Orgeron said. “He’s a track guy. He had a lingering hamstring injury for a while. He’s better to where we can get him out to practice, and hopefully, he can do very well.”

Bradford returned to the Tigers after transferring to Oklahoma prior to the season. He since returned back to LSU and now is available for Alabama. He gives them some help at a running back position that has struggled all season outside of the Kentucky and Florida games. Orgeron also stated that Chasen Hines will be back.

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Then there is the bad news when it comes to even more injuries.

The Tigers won’t have Sage Ryan on the boundary and Cordale Flott didn’t practice on Monday and likely wouldn’t on Tuesday. Ryan is yet another cornerback injury that will only further hinder this defense on the backend against the Tide.

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The team will need all available hands for this game against the Tide. Being a four-touchdown underdog shows the uphill climb that is coming this weekend. Even if the Tigers play their best game, they likely need help from Alabama to win this game due to their injury history.

Per Ed Orgeron former five-star running back John Emery Jr done for the year

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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Tre Bradford’s eligibility still up in the air per Ed Orgeron

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.

Per 247Sports Former Sooners’ running back Tre Bradford re-enrolls at LSU

After departing the University of Oklahoma a week and a half ago, it became official late last night that Tre Bradford was returning to LSU per 247Sports.

The winding saga that is the Tre Bradford story has reached a conclusion, at least for now. Bradford, who transferred to the University of Oklahoma in the Spring from LSU left the program just a week and a half before the Oklahoma Sooners’ season opener.

According to reports at the time, he was looking toward returning to LSU. Well, it became official late last night that the former Tiger turned Sooner is now a Tiger again per 247Sports.

Bradford’s time with the Sooners never really got rolling and it’s still a mystery as to what went wrong here. Sooners’ head coach Lincoln Riley didn’t know what to say about the situation but admitted that Bradford was a player that they “flat out missed on” in the transfer portal.

It was incredibly unfortunate timing as the Sooners just lost Marcus Major to academic ineligibility. The Sooners running back depth took a hit two weeks ago with back-to-back losses to the group. Oklahoma has just two scholarship running backs on the depth chart in Kennedy Brooks and Eric Gray. Walk-ons Jaden Knowles and Todd Hudson were expected to get snaps in the wake of the losses of Major and Bradford, but neither saw a touch in the Sooners 40-35 win over Tulane on Saturday.

The Tigers now get a player back who many in Norman thought very highly of. From his fellow running backs to running backs coach DeMarco Murray, to Lincoln Riley, each of them praised the ability he displayed in practices.

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