LSU Running Back John Emery Jr. to Return for Seventh College Season

Emery began his college career with the 2019 LSU Tigers, a team that won the national championship with the likes of Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson.

John Emery Jr. #4 of the LSU Tigers pushes off Jardin Gilbert #20 of the Texas A&M Aggies during the first half at Kyle Field n College Station, Texas, on Nov. 26, 2022. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Most college students can’t wait to finish their studies, move on with their lives and unofficially enter adulthood. But most college students aren’t John Emery Jr. The LSU running back is perfectly content with the college life, as evident by him announcing he’ll return for a seventh year of college in 2025-26.

Using the two-word quote that Michael Jordan made famous when he returned to the Chicago Bulls in 1995 after venturing into baseball, Emery announced his decision to return by saying, “Im Back” in a social media post.

A combination of circumstances has led Emery to have the eligibility for a seventh season, some of which were out of his control, such as a global pandemic. He began his college career in 2019, the year that LSU won the national championship with the likes of Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Ja’Marr Chase. As a freshman on that title-winning squad, Emery played in 10 games and rushed for 188 yards and four touchdowns.

Then in 2020, Emery would post his career-best season in terms of rushing yards (378) while also running for six scores. However, every player who suited up for the 2020 season didn’t have that year count toward their seasons of eligibility due to the pandemic. Thus, entering the 2021 season, Emery still had three years of eligibility remaining.

However, due to academic issues in 2021, the running back didn’t suit up for a single game. Thus, that season also didn’t count towards his eligibility, so he entered 2022 still with three seasons remaining. He played in 11 games that year, rushing for a career-high of six touchdowns with 375 yards on the ground. He contemplated entering his name in the 2023 NFL Draft after the season but bypassed and elected to return for a fifth year in 2023, with two seasons of eligibility left.

Emery started off as part of LSU’s rotation at running back and played in seven games in 2023. He had 121 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown but suffered a season-ending injury in mid-November against the Florida Gators. Still, Emery participated in enough games for that season to count towards his eligibility, leaving him with, what he thought, one season left.

During that offseason, Emery entered his name into the college football transfer portal. However, he elected to stay with the LSU Tigers in 2024 for a sixth year, which is dubbed a “super senior” season. He played in LSU’s opener versus the USC Trojans and had an impressive showing, rushing for 61 yards on 10 carries. However, during practice before LSU’s second game, Emery suffered another season-ending injury during a noncontact drill.

As a result of playing in just one game, Emery was able to utilize a medical redshirt and have the 2024 season not count towards his eligibility. That allows him to return for the 2025 college football season, which will be his seventh on campus. Emery attained his undergraduate degree in May 2024 and will be classified as a graduate student in 2025.

Injuries and inconsistency with staying on the field have led to somewhat pedestrian production for Emery, but that belies the hype he had surrounding him coming out of high school. He was the No. 1 overall running back in the Class of 2019, which included current NFL stars Breece Hall and Kyren Williams. He was ranked first at his position by both ESPN and 247Sports, with the latter also ranking Emery as the top player in Louisiana.

He signed with his hometown school over offers from teams such as Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas. Emery played high school ball at Destrehan High in the New Orleans metro area, the same high school that produced Justin Jefferson and Hall of Famer Ed Reed. At Destrehan, Emery rushed for 1,693 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior.

Emery will have competition for playing time in 2025, despite LSU losing running back Josh Williams who, like Emery, was in the Class of 2019 and just completed his sixth season. The Tigers’ leading rusher, Caden Durham, returns after posting 753 yards and six scores last season as a freshman. Kaleb Jackson, who was a top-10 running back in the Class of 2023, will also return, while LSU added a couple of highly touted recruits as well.

Coach Brian Kelly was able to land Harlem Berry, who is the No. 1 running back in the Class of 2025 and expected to contribute immediately. The Tigers have another prized incoming freshman in JT Lindsey, a four-star prospect rated as a top-10 running back in his class.

LSU went 9-4 last season after back-to-back 10-win campaigns. Kelly enters his fourth season with the Tigers looking to do something that Nick Saban also did in his fourth year with LSU—win a national championship. Emery’s career started off with a national title, and Kelly is hoping his return helps the Tigers get back into contention for another in 2025.