After John Emery Jr tore his ACL for the second time in LSU’s season opener against USC it appeared to be the end of his College Football career. It was John Emery Jr’s sixth year at LSU and his second ACL tear in back to back seasons.
The factors involved made it surprising this week when John Emery Jr announced he’d be returning for one more season of College Football.
The timing didn’t make a ton of sense as Emery Jr announced the decision after LSU’s activity in the transfer portal, after LSU signed a pair of Freshmen running backs, and as LSU was already underway on Spring practices.
While Emery announced he’d be playing in 2025, it wasn’t clear where he was going to be playing as LSU needed to accept him back into the fold. On Saturday, Brian Kelly poured cold water on the idea of Emery returning to LSU:
"We’ll be supportive in any way that we can, but we’re set at the running back position."Brian Kelly
On one hand, the news is a bit disappointing as Emery was the longest tenured player on the roster and could’ve served a few roles for this team. Given Emery’s experience he could’ve served as a great mentor to LSU’s younger running back room while also helping in pass protection.
On the other hand even if Brian Kelly allowed Emery to return to LSU, he likely wouldn’t have a role on this team. LSU returns its starter Caden Durham along with Kaleb Jackson who the staff has been impressed with. After signing two top ten running back recruits, LSU was never going to add additional backs that could prevent their growth.
It’ll be interesting to see if John Emery ends up landing anywhere as he tested the portal this Spring but, returned to LSU.