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Ed Orgeron breaks down John Emery Jr.’s solid performance in LSU’s win against Vanderbilt
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
After a season-opening loss to Mississippi State, LSU needed a bounceback win to avoid going 0-2 on the season.
It did so against the perfect opponent: Vanderbilt. The Tigers routed the Commodores, 41-7, in Nashville on Saturday.
While Myles Brennan threw for 4 touchdowns, LSU received a nice boost in the running game from John Emery Jr. The sophomore from just outside New Orleans recorded 103 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries.
“I thought John Emery ran the ball well,” said Orgeron, according to 247Sports. “He’s bigger and he’s stronger, but overall, I’m so pleased with John of handling the football and not giving that football up. That’s the biggest improvement he’s made.”
Emery wasn’t originally supposed to see as much playing time, but with Chris Curry unavailable, he found himself No. 2 on the depth chart behind Tyrion Davis-Price. He was able to make the most of his attempts, leading the staff to lean on him a little more as the game progressed.
“Tyrion started, but John got hot,” said Orgeron. “We’ve been seeing these John Emery runs, we’ve been seeing them in practice and he finally got a chance in the game.”
Who will get a bulk of the carries moving forward? We’ll find out starting this weekend as the Tigers take on Mizzou.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
