LSU Football: Who will start in the backfield for the Tigers?
LSU Football’s Fall Camp is now in full swing after Brian Kelly’s squad took the field for the first time last week. There obviously aren’t many serious developments that have emerged after just a couple days of light practice, but media availability has revealed some things about the Tigers’ plans for the upcoming season. After all, there are a lot of questions yet to be answered.
Fans are itching to see who will trot out for LSU’s first drive on each side of the ball on September 4 when the Tigers take on Florida State. It goes without saying that all eyes will be on whoever lines up under center. The quarterback competition is the biggest talking point as Fall Camp continues, and Kelly is keeping his hand close to his chest. The coaching staff hasn’t revealed anything about who has the edge in that battle, but elsewhere, fans can use context clues to infer which players Kelly prefers at certain positions.
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Who will start in the backfield for LSU Football in the 2022 season?
As Myles Brennan, Jayden Daniels, Walker Howard and Garrett Nussmeier duke it out for the title of QB1, a lot of the attention has turned to the backfield battle. It was revealed last week that running back Tre Bradford was no longer on the LSU roster for reasons unknown. When asked about Bradford’s omission, Kelly had this to say about the situation:
"“Tre has been separated from the university, and there are laws that I can’t get into specifics there. But he is no longer on the roster.”"
Bradford wasn’t expected to play a huge role for the Tigers during the 2022 season, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have contributed to the team. After all, the Tigers are looking to replace the production of Ty Davis-Price, who graduated last year. The San Francisco 49ers back racked up over 1,000 yards on the ground over 211 carries last season. Freshman Corey Kiner saw the second-most carries on the team (79) and rushed for 324 yards in 2021.
Kiner transferred to Cincinnati, which means that LSU’s top two rushers from 2021 have now left the program. The Tigers aren’t short of options though. Similar to the QB room, the running back position may simply be an issue of too many cooks in the kitchen. Kiner’s former sidekick, sophomore Armoni Goodwin, will return for the 2022 season. Penn State transfer Noah Cain is a name to keep an eye on as he moves back to Baton Rouge to play ball for his hometown Tigers. Veterans John Emery Jr. and Josh Williams round out the group Kelly will have at his disposal now that Bradford is no longer with the team.
Cain was made available to reporters during the second day of Fall Camp, which could be an indication of which way Kelly is leaning. The new addition to the team has an excellent chance to be named RB1 following Kiner’s transfer. That being said, if there is confidence within the coaching staff that Emery could seamlessly transition back into the team, he could prove to be fierce competition for Cain. Emery didn’t play at all in 2021, but he’s averaged 5.0 yards per carry throughout his college career. Regardless of who starts, Kelly is likely to use a running back committee throughout the early parts of the season until a starter pulls away from the pack.
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Who would you like to see get a bulk of the carries for the Tigers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!