Brian Kelly sets expectations for John Emery's season debut

John Emery Jr. is set to make his 2022 season debut this weekend against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Death Valley, which will serve as his first appearance for LSU since the 2020 season. While head coach Brian Kelly expects Emery to become a regular rotational running back, Tigers fans shouldn’t get hopeful about his workload this weekend.

“We want to get him in the action, but we feel like with the other backs, they deserve playing time as well,” Kelly said Thursday. “So John’s not going to be featured kind of like Kayshon [Boutte] was featured [last week], so we’re excited to get him back.

“He obviously brings a skill set that that we’re impressed with, but we can’t put too much on him. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s going to help us in pass protection, he catches the ball well out of the backfield. But we have to be realistic with our expectations in game one with him coming out of the gates, no doubt.”

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Emery was deemed academically ineligible for his junior season, and before that played a limited role in LSU’s undefeated 2019 National Championship team and the following year’s COVID-impacted season. Through his career, Emery has taken 114 rushing attempts for 566 yards, good for five yards per rush, and seven touchdowns. 

The former blue-chip running back recruit missed the first two games of the season thanks to the academic suspension stemming from his junior year, but Kelly and the Tigers coaching staff have kept him in the loop on the practice field throughout training camp and into the season.

“Let’s be careful now, he’s been off for a while,” Kelly said. “So, you know, to put a lot of expectations on him in the first game – we certainly can’t do that. We’ve got other backs that have done really well, but he will be part of the mix and make no mistake about it, we’ve seen his capabilities in camp. We’ve kept him active within our rotations, so he’s ready to play.”

Emery’s return to the field will be in Death Valley in the Tigers’ SEC opener against Mississippi State. Kickoff is set for this Saturday at 6 p.m. ET live on ESPN.