Entering the 2019 season, the LSU football team will carry very high expectations following a 10-3 campaign that included wins over No. 2 Georgia in the regular season and No. 8 UCF in the Fiesta Bowl. The team returns some key starters, and brought in the No. 5 ranked recruiting class according to the 247Composite, which is a rating that compiles all of the top recruiting sites rankings.
One of the key returnees is junior running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who was LSU’s second leading rusher in 2018, rushing for 677 yards and seven touchdowns on just 146 carries, good for 4.5 yards per carry.
Two of the 25 recruits the Tigers brought in are freshman running backs John Emery Jr. and Tyrion Davis, both of whom were rated in the top-10 at the position. Emery Jr. was a five-star and the second-ranked running back while Davis was a four-star and ranked eighth according to the 247Composite.
The three together form what could be an incredibly effective trio of running backs, similar to the days of Leonard Fournette, Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams or Jeremy Hill, Kenny Hilliard and Michael Ford.

Edwards-Helaire, as mentioned above, comes into the 2019 season as the most experienced back, and even if he doesn’t lead the team in carries, his role as a leader in the position group will be vital to Emery Jr. and Davis as they adjust to the college game. 

Edwards-Helaire proved to be a nice change-of-pace to Nick Brossette, who was a more physical runner that stayed in between the tackles. He can also be dynamic out of the backfield as a receiver, with the ability to make a defender miss and accelerate quickly.
His size may prevent him from being an every-down back, but he will be integral to the success of the running backs.
Emery Jr. battled Alabama freshman Trey Sanders for the title as the top running back in the Class of 2019, but eventually fell just short of Sanders, who garnered a 99.63 rating from the 247Composite, while Emery Jr. finished with a 99.29 rating.
Nonetheless, Emery Jr., who played at Destrehan High School in Louisiana, showcased the speed, elusiveness, power and explosiveness that one expects from a five-star prospect. He rushed for 1,876 yards and 26 touchdowns his senior year, ran a 4.42 40-yard dash and measured a 37.90 inch vertical at The Opening Finals combine.
Comparisons have been made to former Tiger and current-Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice. After watching the tape, those comparisons are certainly warranted. Edwards-Helaire is expected to be the starter for the 2019 season, but expect Emery Jr. to get a lot of run throughout the course of the season as his talent is too high to leave on the sidelines.
Davis was not as talked about as Emery Jr., but it wasn’t because of his abilities. Davis has been firmly committed to the Tigers since June 2017, and when a player has been committed to a school for a long period of time, their rating tends not to move up or down too much.
Regardless of the buzz around Davis, or lack thereof, he rushed for 2,556 yards and 31 touchdowns his senior year, ran a 4.53 40-yard dash and measured a 33.80 inch vertical at The Opening Regional combine.
He’s a little bit bigger than Emery Jr. at 6-feet-1 inch, 235 pounds (Emery Jr. is 5 feet 11 inches, 206 pounds) and can be a more physical runner at times, but still has the elusiveness and evasiveness to make defenders miss.
Davis also showcased the ability to be a receiver out of the backfield, allowing blocks to set up and find holes in the screen game. If Davis has trouble finding carries because of how well Emery Jr. plays, he can certainly impact the passing game not only as a receiver but also as a blocker.
How offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger decides to divvy up the carries will be interesting to watch, as Edwards-Helaire, Emery Jr. and Davis all have the ability to affect the game in different ways.
Edwards-Helaire has proven he can be a Southeastern Conference running back, and will more than likely get the start on Aug. 31 against Georgia Southern. But Emery Jr. and Davis are super-talents, and if they can adjust to the speed of the college game quickly, they may push Edwards-Helaire for his carries.