When people think of an LSU offense historically, they think of great running backs like Charlie Alexander, Kevin Faulk, and Leonard Fournette, just to name a few. Going into 2021 however, the running back position may be LSU’s biggest question mark.
Past running backs have been the type of hard-nosed, productive running backs that many people would associate with LSU. Even though the offense changed in 2019 with less power running, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was still extremely effective for LSU out of the backfield.
During the 2020 season, the offense as a whole was far from the source of the team’s problems, but there was never consistent production out of the backfield. Then sophomores John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price got the bulk of the carries last season but neither of the two separated themselves as an RB1 who could be trusted with 20-30 touches per game.
Emery and Davis-Price will be back for the purple and gold during the 2021 season, but with the team being at the end of fall camp, the duo has yet to show the production that many have expected from them. Head Coach Ed Orgeron has expressed his concerns over the running back position and addressed it when speaking to the media after last week’s preseason scrimmage.
“Tyrion and John have been on again, off again,” Orgeron said. “They’re great backs, but we need consistency out of them, and we haven’t really got that in camp.”
Hearing this coming from the head coach can be cause for concern but it also raises the question of who’s next up? Josh Williams got a decent number of carries towards the end of last season and brings some experience but isn’t near as dynamic and explosive as Emory and Davis-Price.
Two names to keep a close eye on in the running back room are Corey Kiner and Armoni Goodwin. Kiner and Goodwin are both highly touted freshmen that bring unique skill sets to the LSU offense. Many people around the program have already described them as “thunder and lightning” with Goodwin being a slimmer, shiftier back who’s good in space, and Kiner being a strong hard-nosed runner who’s best utilized in between the tackles.
Despite some of the newfound depth in the running back spot, the Tigers are going to want to get the best out of Emery and Davis-Price. Both backs have been spoken highly of since they arrived at LSU but heading into their third season, neither one has quite lived up to their hype.
Emery arrived at LSU in 2019 as a five-star recruit and the No. 2 ranked running back prospect in his class and was expected to make an immediate impact. In his freshman year, he was expected to be a solid understudy to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but issues with ball security kept him off the field for most of that season. In 2020, many believed that Emery had taken that next step and was ready to be an effective back next to Davis-Price, but he never developed the consistency needed to really break out.
Davis-Price had a slightly different journey at LSU. Similar to Emery, however, there is still plenty of untapped potential. Davis-Price, like Emery, arrived at LSU in 2019 with lower expectations but was able to make an immediate impact backing up Edwards-Helaire in 2019. With his success in the 2019 season, many expected him to break out in 2020 as LSU’s next great running back, but the consistency never came. Davis-Price’s inability to make an impact in the passing game was his biggest weakness, not being able to have the dynamic impact that Edwards-Helaire had in 2019.
Despite the struggles, both Emery and Davis-Price have the talent to be great running backs for LSU. Injuries have also played a part during fall camp, but when both of them are healthy fans can expect to see a productive one-two punch in the backfield. Add to that two exciting freshmen in Goodwin and Kiner, and LSU fans have every reason to be excited about the running back core in 2021.