LSU RB John Emery Jr. Tears ACL: What It Means for Him, the Tigers' Backfield, and the LSU Program

the biggest story of the day uh and really started to um permeate around LSU football supporters and people and message boards and news outlets yesterday afternoon is the devastating news as our uh as as our guy Wilson Alexander had it first uh said that John Emery has suffered a torn ACL and that was announced during Tuesday's practice and we'll miss the rest of the season season uh emmer had made his recovery back to the field after tearing his ACL versus Florida last November I mean late in the season Emory sustained this injury and to see the way that they were pushing him early in Fall Camp a lot of people around the the media and covering the program were like man this is pretty intense what they got Emory going through and obviously they were trying to get him ready for the season he was the leading rusher in the game on Sunday night as he had 61 rushing yards on 10 carries versus USC he was uh looking as if he was going to be the the the premier back on this team at least for the first part of the season and the News hit yesterday that he was going to be out for the year and it seems like in following the the the messages on social media the outpouring on social media everybody a lot of you were hit just like I know our show was as we had an internal text thread happening um and I know for me personally once I read the news I mean I was crushed crushed I mean just almost brought down to your knees man for for John Emery of just what he's gone through I know a lot of it has been brought on by himself but also in the in the the the silver lining of the story a lot of it had had started to really work out the graduation getting back on the field getting back healthy and really looking as if he was going to use this six year as as the the year that he was going to get on the field and and really contribute from start to finish and it just it didn't work out they announced the injury yesterday it happened earlier this week and there's no way to spin it there's no way other than it's just devastating news both personally for John Emery and collectively for LSU's football team I I you know for as much as we all love Emery thinking about him talking about you know the the the the thoughts the prayers the the feelings that we have for for John Emy um you know one thing that that that I have not heard a lot being discussed is this is crushing to the to the team hey this is that the the the reason why there was so much emphasis on getting Emory ready to go for the season is because Kelly Frank Wilson Joe Sloan Cortez haned in the offensive crew for LSU believe wholeheartedly and these guys have the experience and understanding of you got to have multiple backs in the SEC to make it wire to wire you got to have guys that you can trust and the Trey Holly situation really kind of threw them into a a little bit of disarray once it was it was pushed back there was not going to be a ruling on it for for some time and how are they going to get that that other guy and Emory was he was the one he was the one that they were going to bring up to speed they they were going to get him healthy they were going to get him right and they were getting get get him on the field obviously a after what we saw on Tuesday on on Sunday night and you know to have the announcement come out on Wednesday that he would be missing the remainder of the season it's it's bone crushing for for him personally and you know I think we all understand that that you know we we all pull for Emery he's a great dude he's got a great personality he's a New Orleans kid you know he's a Louisiana's Z one of the best running backs from a high school standpoint to come out over the last 10 to 15 years years and while he's had shades of of success at LSU it's never been that consistent run literally you know no no no punt in it but just that he's able to stay healthy from start to finish and and enjoy how good of a football player he is at the college level and to have that taken away an injury this week man I just I feel for him I hate that for for everybody involved I know that there's a lot of people internally at LSU that are you know I mean you think you're crushed or we're crushed those guys that and people that are around Emory every single day been a part of his rehab been right there with him and watching him put in the work and try and get back out on the field man it's just it's a tough day for that um so you know it it it's a it's a devastating story it really is there's no way to there's no way to to to spin it really when you talk about what it means um obviously the personality of Emy and and him not having the opportunity to finish out his final season at LSU and and and having to deal with injury on it it just it sucks there's there's no other way to to to Really forecast it yeah I mean especially with the way that Sunday night went for him you know course it did you saw him get on the field and when he when he kind of busted off that long run it was just kind of this beautiful moment for all LSU fans cuz you know we've LSU fans have been there watching him throughout these six years and kind of have felt some of the pain and and been through it and you saw him finally kind of make the plays you've been waiting on in a game of that magnitude and then for him to be the best running back on the field and then to get that news on Tuesday I mean I mean yesterday it was just absolutely heartbreaking I I'll be interesting to hear what what the not the Fallout is but just you know kind of the push back just the description of what what you know what happened because I know when I when I saw him at first I was like is that John Emery out there is that 4 is 44 John Emery MH and then when somebody was like yeah I was like damn that's quick I mean like November is I mean that's when you're talking about early August in Fall camp and seeing the the the the pressure he was putting on that knee and going through full contact and then you know I mean so much so that Kelly had to really kind of explain it of what the purpose was why are you doing this why are you pushing him so soon off of this knee injury and and like he explained it they need the guy they need the back they need the player they need him to be ready and it was obvious now after watching LSU play for a game that and you know I mean I just mean this from a football St they don't really trust Caleb Jackson Josh Williams to be the guy I mean if they did Sunday night would have been it right I mean they wanted to to feature Emory they wanted to get him the ball he was the most effective guy and that that's where LSU's running back room was leaving game one you know I mean I know our story here Monday morning was one of the top storylines that we talked about in doing our show in Vegas is that John Emery is running back one like forget the discussion forget the competition don't overthink it feed him I mean if that's what he's going to be and just thinking look he'll progressively just kind of improve get healthy his confidence will build all of it and by the time you get to October maybe he's got all those those cobwebs of you know missing time and the the the mental hurdle that you have to jump in getting back after an injury like a knee for a running back will will be resolved um and you know it just sucks man it's it's a it's a it's a devastating story really when you talk about um just the player and you know I mean what he is I I you know the first the the first thing I thought of when when it hit was I don't know what John Emory wants to do in in in his life I don't know what he aspires to be once he he leaves College um outside of football I'm sure that his his lifelong goals was to make it to the NFL and and and play at the highest level and at points during his college career it looked inevitable that John Emory was going to be a pro and then a couple of knee injuries later and you think about what the the future might hold for Emory the first person I thought of when this happened after I kind of got past the the The Fog of man I I can't believe this is happening is Marcus ladimore at South Carolina and the way that he has been treated by South Carolina after what was going to be a guaranteed professional draft pick a guaranteed featured back in the league and a guaranteed multi-million dollar contract that that he was going to to have at least his rookie deal right I mean he was going to be a first round pick sign a big rookie deal after he got in the league you can't really account for that but that was definitely going to happen to him I can't say with as much certainty as I would have with a guy like Latimore coming out of South Carolina that that that John Emory would be a high round draft pick I can say with certainty without the injuries John Emory would have been a pro that he would have gotten a chance in an NFL camp and and by seeing his skill set I would have bet on him making a team somewhere with his ability to run catch just play his skill set what he brings and I know that you can't do this for everyone because there are a lot of players that come through LSU and get hurt there's a lot of fan favorites that come through LSU and get hurt but the way that John Emery has handled his six years at LSU at times it was probably not textbook or what you really wanted the the the program promoting but all in all from the the the totality of his time here can't we all agree of his love his representation of our State of the State University of the State football team has always been endearing that you've always pulled for him that you've always liked him that you've always wanted to see him succeed right and again I I don't necessarily know if that means giving him a role in the athletic administration building but I know the role that Kevin Faulk serves as an ambassador to LSU and I've walked around LSU's campus with Kevin Faulk on a game day or a Friday before a big game and you know you might as well be walking around with Joe burrow and I I believe that Emery somewhere along the way could really be some type of Ambassador for LSU LSU football because of what he's given and it's no more than anybody else that's come with him you know and been a peer or been a a teammate but when you just think about the outcome and what he means to the program what he means to the school what he means to the university I I don't know I I I think that it could possibly make sense because you just hate to see it in like this for him I mean it's just it's the most John Emery thing ever yeah like where goes out like you like people were like oh John emy's back on the team you saw him flirt with the transfer portal then LSU makes an effort to bring him back and you're like you don't really expect or know what you're going to get from him but we and me and Noah went out to the first practice it's like they're running him a good bit like he was getting a good bit of run and it turned into they're trying to get him ready because like you said you're not sure what you have you know what Josh Williams brings to the table it's up to Caleb Jackson to see if he can make that next that leap and then John Emy entered the fold like well you know what you gotten John a little bit and to see him go out in the first game of the year when you need a running back it's like John Emy comes in you don't know what to expect 10 for 61 and rips off a 40 yard it looks like he's going to score and then two days later to an ACL it's like this is what happens to him all the time it's just a crazy I guess coincidence that this every time he does something good something always comes up and bites him and it is a question of I guess a little bit of how hard they brought him back and he was clearly medically cleared or else it wouldn't have been such a it would have been a bigger story but whenever you have an ACL in one KN like the other half of the body has to give at some point you're putting so much more strain on the other half and that's what it seems like it was it's a non- contct injury at practice where it's the other ACL so when you do kind of how injuries happen when people come back this Falls right into that bucket of all right a lot of rehab and he came back extremely fast and then the other knee goes I hate to hear it man I really do it's it's just you know I haven't gotten over the initial feeling of of hearing it and knowing that that he'll have to sit and watch for the rest of the season it's just um I hate that for for John Emery and and and like we said I mean we will get to the implications of what it means for the football team um throughout the day it's major but it reminds me of uh when Ellie brussard got hurt in Camp whenever he had the I think it was the torn ACL and it just came AC cross the newswire one day on like a Monday or Tuesday and you're like wait cuz Bruce hard struggled with the same of like some injuries too and he starts to every time he kind of got it going again you're like oh Ali Bruce started you can see the talent that was in there and same thing with John IM where he's a five-star kid that came in number one running back in the country and it just you only saw glimpses you never got to see him fully put together but John Emory has probably one of the greatest highlight packages of just glimpses of the talent and that's what made him so intoxicating was if he ever gets it all the way right and even what he got hurt against Florida that's a highlight and then he goes down but it's just it's so unfortunate man because you really thought if there was anything if you thought that you know there's going to be a story book at some point like maybe this is how it ends for him and with that said I don't know what his eligibility situation is if he can apply for a hardship and come back if he wants to battle through another ACL incredible seventh Year John give me some I will take him in a heart give it to me yeah give it to me I mean it's got to be possible absolutely I mean in in today's college football world where you look up and there's a ninth year tight end at Miami yep I mean why not looking at John emer's situation I could definitely say he deserves that year that he missed where there was no medical right there was no I mean he just that you just took the year away from him on some academic stuff now he's got his degree give him that year back yeah or it be like a a medical hardship where he was a he could red shirt essentially because he is missing he hasn't played enough it's the first game of the year to where he could apply for a medical red shirt and essentially be granted another year but that's the other thing about Emory is I wouldn't be surprised if he did come back because this story is wild and he had every opportunity to leave like you saw like flirt with the portal a little bit that's fine like you didn't he didn't know if he was going to be welcomed back but even before that when he could have gone to the league he could have tested like people saw the talent he could have tested the waters and Tred to go play professionally but he wanted to come back and he wanted to get his degree he wanted to finish school and he did and you have the picture of what Frank Wilson who like tweeted it out him and his cap and gown he's like this one hits different because everybody kind of knew the story of John Emory and like his battle with academics that was like the seemingly the one thing that was stopping him from playing the only thing that he really wanted to do was play football and now that I mean you heard Brian Kelly say it was like I mean we got academics out the way like now we can finally focus on Ball but you could see like the outpouring from not only the fan base which I get but it's it's cool to see somebody so beloved in the program because he had every opportunity to leave but the players and the coaches like everybody's kind of gutted a little bit and it's just LSU season starting off with a little bit of little rocky road here I talked to two coaches yesterday and they were just floor devastated I mean like they were it's a death yeah I mean really and truly I mean it's a it's a it's a death in the family I mean it's it's that's the feeling of it where you know you lose somebody who's put in such hard work and there's just a um yeah there's there there's an overwhelming amount of support for Emory up there which I know is going to help him in this situation um but but the the early you know feeling and um you know just crushing yeah it's crushing it's crushing it it sucks but um we we will talk about now what it means from a football standpoint remember daily were're brought to you by G roof online at geax roof.com G roof uh overnight a lot of rain if you had any leaks pop up if you got some problems with your roof remember our boys over at go roof can help you today 225 927 8300 they'll get up on the roof in the rain diagnose the problem work with the insurance company ton of uh experience in that field if you want to work with the best then go with go roof and nobody outside of the listening area here or or or service area if you're hearing this ad doesn't matter where you are I know that not everybody's in Louisiana not everybody's in south Louisiana not everybody's in Baton Rouge listening to our program if if you need a trusted quality roofer and you are not you're not pleased with with with who you have or the the the quality of work in in Roofing u in the in in the the the company that you're dealing with call call G roof 225 927 8300 or online at Gea roof.com all right so you know you got Caleb Jackson you know you got Josh Williams those two guys workload is about to about to beef up what else do you have there now all eyes turn and look to a rookie and a freshman in Kaden Durham and look if if you've listened to this program over the last couple of years and especially over the last couple of months you know my feeling on Force feeding freshman I I love a a a true freshman who comes in ready to play Ahmad bro played a ton of football the other night he he he to me was not force-fed his reps it's obvious Don McKinley is not quite ready to go he didn't play right it tells me everything I need to know PJ Woodland to me was force-fed out there because you're out of options you don't know where else to go where else to turn who else to play that's a true freshman and you tell him hey man we're just going to have to live and die with your freshman mistakes we're just going to have to deal with the way you handle playing as an 18-year-old rookie in one of the toughest positions in football now get out there and go prove us right and for Kaden Durham it's obvious with the the emphasis that they were putting on John Emory and the persistent that they were working the back channels on the Trey Holly situation on finding out what's the deal legally what's going to happen that they need another running back they wanted another running back there were rumors that they were looking into the portal for running backs once the Holly situation fell through and it wasn't going to be legally determined on him being back to the start of the season they called John Emery when he was in Los Angeles on UCLA's campus and was like wrap it up up that get back down home you're not going to UCLA you're playing but I'm what's the NOP Trey Holly thing didn't work out you're playing for LSU hops a flight next thing you know he's first team running back in Fall Camp play the first game of the seing season he's the leading rusher both in yardage and in carries obviously they need another running back they're they're they're showing their hand they're telling you whether it's the the the the desperation of trying to find somebody in the summer to replace Holly or feeding John Emy in game one so now where do you go from here Kaden Durham as we said rookie running back comes out of a a very successful a very prosperous high school program in Duncanville which is located right there in the Metroplex in the Dallas area and pumps out prospects every single year Kaden Durham was one of their Headliners last year he was the number five running back in the country he was a guy that Frank Wilson sought out and went and got you rarely see Wilson extend his reach outside of Louisiana like Nick Sabin said a couple of weeks ago you can shake a tree and skill gu skill players are just going to dump out in Louisiana he's speaking about defensive backs wide receivers and running backs you ask any recruiter in the country they believe that Louisiana you can find those three positions by leaving whatever facility you're at sou Easterns LSUS Louisiana techs ul's two lane and go find one of those in a car you don't have to get in a plane you just drive over to a local high school and say who's your DBS where are your running backs let me see your wide receivers for the first time in a long time Frank Wilson went outside of the state sought after and really kind of pinpointed one player that he wanted and that was Durham in last year's cycle he knows that he had Harlan Barry coming up he knows that he had JT Lindsay coming up he knows that he had James Simon coming up in this recruiting cycle and he wanted two of those guys he's got Barry and Lindsay both committed to the class for 2025 2024 only had one running back Kaden Durham and for as much as I hate Force feating freshman and telling them that they have to play Kaden Durham you got to play and the next four weeks is a great opportunity to see if he's ready to play Come October because when it gets to October and not that LSU can can can really duck out and hide over the next couple of weeks but you can definitely work on some things that you're not going to have the chance to do coming up here in about a month and now the top priority is getting Kaden Durham ready to go or I know Brian Kelly will meet with the media today he'll be asked about Trey Holly he'll be asked to update Trey Holly and I I assume that there will be some some updates to to hand over on Holly whether it's dates timelines or something that he is anticipating on just some news coming out on Holly when they could get some type of of resolution some type of of answer to what's the deal I mean what's the timeline when can you get him back because let it be known if Holly's eligible tonight he plays Saturday and when I say plays I mean like he touches the ball I know that they've been keeping a keen eye on him working him out keeping him in shape and making sure when he steps back in that for at least the physical shape of it he's going to be ready to go it's one thing not to be hit it's one thing not to put on pads it's one thing not to really go through the motions of being a a football player every single day but they're desperate at running back now with losing Emory and only having two guys that they what told me on Sunday night they don't really trust like they trust him enough to run him out there and see if they can bust one but when it came down to it hry was the only guy in there and that told me a lot I mean they were trying to run the ball you know by by all accounts and for the most part Emory was the guy that was getting the carries and now with him off the block somebody's going to have to step up and Kaden Durham is going to have to be it you know I mean really that's the that's the only option you have at this point Without Really you know realistically looking at other positions and asking guys to do other things I don't think they're there yet I don't think that they're you know that desperate yet but they're a play away from that you know I mean that's that's another thing that brings into this concern of the running back position is now you're you're you're realistically a play away from having two guys the second week of September I mean you know this is a long grueling winding season that you're going to have to navigate through and having to do that with two feature backs that are you know you're telling them they need to improve by the the Reps that they got in in game one it's just not ideal it's not ideal you do have the opportunity to do maybe the coolest thing ever Harold Perkins saw yeah you saw a glimpse of it I mean I that's what I'm saying where you're not I don't know if you're desperate enough yet to to bring some I mean you got to think about your defense I mean you know here's the situ you I mean like that that's the deal right I mean these these story lines I think are fun to talk about but when you have it's one thing to talk about it with Stingley on the 2019 team right where you've got I mean you've got some depth lose her you know you lose Harald Perkins on a tall sweep right but I'm just saying if you don't have that if you only have two scholarship running backs and it really gets down to it I'm not even really joking I wouldn't be surprised if he has some plays on offense like I know that think it was like just a kind of a hat tip to get him the ball against Wisconsin be like this will be fun whatever but if you're going to risk it even in a in a meaningless balll game where God if he'd have gotten hurt then like that You' look like the dumbest coaching staff of all time if you really do need a third running back and you have somebody that talented and the narrative continues to be is what are you really getting from one defense you want to see him be a playmaker go put him on offense yeah no I understand that but I mean your your whole scheme built around him defensively so I mean you can't rip him out of there I I would say that the more logical candidate for this and it's something that we saw a little bit of the other night was a little twist was zavon Thomas he got a carry yeah you you know they put him in in some motion in in a slot and brought him to the Back Field and kind of caught him and gave him a handoff on his momentum moving downhill and look I don't hate it I don't it's risky it's a risk I don't I don't dislike it I also I think he should probably get more he should probably get more targets he should probably be more of a focal point in the game you know going back and watching that game again if Chris Hilton's not gonna be if he's somebody that you can't count on and you're waiting for the younger guys to develop zavon Thomas has to be your deep threat he has to be the guy that can stretch the field I mean I after watching I'm just looking at game one unless there's another guy I mean you know I mean unless there's somebody else that can step up if Shelton Samson can do it that'd be awesome that'd be great but you know I mean realistically Shelton Samson hasn't logged a lot of reps even in practice to give you the peace of mind that that he can be that guy just yet I I would think that zavon Thomas would be the next guy up as far as a playmaker that you're looking for John Emery fit into the category of playmaker offensively he was a guy that could change the scoreboard for you he he could do it a multiple amount of ways whether it was throwing it you know throwing the ball to him or you know letting him run it and I think zavon Thomas kind of checks those boxes when you talk about somebody that could step in and give you similar skill set and keep up the production that you may looking for I don't know if he can carry it 10 times for 61 yards versus USC it certainly would look different but it it it seems like they trust him a little bit more than anybody else to be the next guy up right like if it's not going to be Kaden Durham that they look at and say hey we need you to play this Saturday and be ready for November or be ready for October then zavon Thomas feels like he's the guy that may get the Reps that may have the the the the extended playing time come his way on this well wait and see well you have the you can certainly be cre more creative offensively and kind of hide the fact that you have two backs that you are going to be your bell cows when it comes to Josh Williams and Caleb Jackson you obviously have to get Caleb Jackson going in some regard but if you want to start running the ball a little bit more with Garrett NM if you want to start running a little bit more Aaron Anderson like side to side where you can still get carries and kind of run an offense that looks a little different but you can Mas the fact that you don't have three guys that you can turn around and hand it off to yeah it's it's a rare time at LSU not to have DBS and not to have running backs I mean really I mean they in the in the 15 years that I've covered LSU intently this is by far the the stringiest two-year run three-year run of running backs and defensive backs that I can recall I mean you know whether they just had a freshman that you didn't even know about whether they had a guy that was coming off of injury whether they just had guys that they had in the system in the program that you know they were they were cycling through you just rarely see them this desperate for for a guy at those positions like they are now you know I mean I you know PJ Woodland playing as a true freshman those will be memories and and instances and and experiences that he can always draw back on and improve from but ideally you would like to have somebody out there where you don't have to put a you know a true freshman into that situation into his first Collegiate game and ask him you know to go guard the other team's best receiver so and I don't know if the running backs are as I don't want to say bad but if people are acting like Caleb Jackson and Josh Williams aren't that guy like they Josh Williams has played a good bit of football and he's been able to run it for you very consistently Caleb Jackson could be a game breaker maybe the USC defense was just good and that's I think a part of it but also you've never had to really you've never run the ball with your running backs in this offense and since you've had Jaden Daniels this hasn't been a focal point so it's new for the entire football team yeah no you could use Logan digs right now yeah I mean sure good really there's Trey Bradford call him up