RB John Emery plans to play Year 7 of CFB, but not at LSU
LSU running back John Emery Jr. is returning for his seventh year of college football, he announced this week.
Now, it’s a matter of where Emery suits up next season.
On Saturday, LSU head coach Brian Kelly said the news from Emery was seen by the public at the same time as the staff, and he put to rest any speculation that Emery would be on LSU’s roster this season.
“We will be supportive in any way we can, Kelly said. “We are set with where we are with the running back position, but love John, and we will be here to help and support him.
“And, if he’s given a 7th year, he is certainly a young man who can help somebody in the Power 4 (conferences).”
When Emery suffered a torn ACL in Week 1 of the 2024 season, his sixth year of college football, Kelly said the staff planned to help usher Emery into the next chapter of his life – which likely meant the end to his playing days given he had presumably exhausted his college eligibility after coming off back-to-back season-ending injuries.
Fast forward to midway through college football spring practices around the country, Emery’s announcement lends to the reality that the NCAA could award him another year of eligibility this fall.
It’s just a matter of where Emery chooses as his next – and final – college stop.
Emery was a 5-star prospect in the 2019 class, signing with LSU as the No. 2 running back on the On3 Industry Rankings.
From a season (and two additional games) missed as he worked through an academic ruling from the NCAA to multiple injuries to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season not counting towards a player’s eligibility, Emery evidently now has the green light from the NCAA to return to college football for a seventh year.
Emery’s season-ending knee injury midway through the 2023 season was followed by a season-ending injury in the opener against Southern Cal in Week 1 of the 2024 season this past fall.
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The last time Emery was on the field with the Tigers, he sparked the run game vs. Southern Cal with 61 yards on 10 carries. Just as he got rolling, Emery suffered another season-ending knee injury.
Emery, who was part of LSU’s National Championship team in 2019, briefly entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after the 2023 season, but later withdrew his name and returned to LSU for the 2024 season. At the time, there was speculation that if Emery left LSU, a team in good position to land him was UCLA.
Emery is not currently listed in the NCAA Transfer Portal, but is expected to enter given Kelly’s answers on Saturday in Baton Rouge.
Emery’s six seasons at LSU brought with it five starts and 38 games played, and he’s logged 223 carries for 1,123 yards and 14 touchdowns to go with 37 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns.
With LSU running back Trey Holly absent from the team as he continues to work through ongoing legal issues, and veteran running back Josh Williams out of college eligibility, the Tigers have four scholarship running backs in returners Caden Durham and Kaleb Jackson and December signees out of high school in Louisiana 5-star Harlem Berry and 4-star JT Lindsey. Both Berry and Lindsey were ranked as Top 10 running backs nationally.
The staff has also moved Ju’Juan Johnson around as a versatile athlete who has taken practice reps on both sides of the ball across his first full year on campus.
