LSU Running Attack Finally Getting on Track With "Dynamic Duo" of John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price
John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price may have come to Baton Rouge as part of the same recruiting class. They may be competing on the field in practice and for carries in the game, but make no mistake.
Emery and Davis-Price are like brothers and this "dynamic duo" is just getting started.
"We pretty much do everything together, we're real tight and since I came here, we've built a great relationship with each other," Davis-Price said. "I feel like we complement each other really well and we're ready to keep it rolling.
“We go out to eat a lot, we hang out on weekends together. He's always smiling, always happy and that's what I like about him most. We're there for each other and that's big."
Orgeron has said all along how if one particular back gets hot, that's the player he'll roll with. Against Vanderbilt, it was Emery that took advantage of his early workload, rushing for a career high 103 yards. This past weekend, it was Davis-Price who took over with his 135-yard outing.
The performance out of the two backs was worthy of being called a breakout as the 276 yards against the Gamecocks nearly equaled the 290 yards the Tigers had accumulated in the first three games combined. It all starts in practice, where the two, along with Chris Curry, compete daily for snaps come Saturday.
"We compete with each other, we're real competitive and we're making each other better. One guy gets hot, he'll get more carries and that's what's best for the team. We're all great backs and we compete, compete, compete. We all want to see each other make it to the next level and there's no better way than to compete with each other."
The pair were on quite the roll against South Carolina on Saturday night. LSU seems to have found its niche after Davis-Price and Emery combined for 229 yards on the ground against the Gamecocks.
With freshman quarterback TJ Finley making his first start, it was imperative LSU got the run game going. After such a successful outing and the very real chance that Finley could be under center against Auburn, carrying this on the road will be equally important.
"We're comfortable with all of our quarterbacks. Next man up. Myles was hurt but TJ stepped in for him and played how he was supposed to play," Davis-Price said. "He's real comfortable, he doesn't panic. He's made for big moments and I think he's gonna do even better since he got his feet hot."
Establishing the run game and getting that balance between the run and pass really helped the offense unlock another gear it hadn't yet discovered. Receiver Terrace Marshall, who brought in two touchdowns in the win over the Gamecocks, noticed a big difference as the game progressed
"Their running opens up the pass game," Marshall said. "If they go out there and run how they did last weekend, it opens up a lot more things for us down the field. As long as they keep doing their job and the receivers keep doing their job, this offense has no limits."
Center Liam Shanahan said it was encouraging to carry out the gameplan in regards to the running game after mostly sticking to the passing attack the first three games.
"We have some really talented backs and that's been evident throughout the season," Shanahan said. "It was really encouraging because we knew going in that we wanted to run the football and we had a ton of success doing so. Hopefully we'll be able to keep building on that moving forward."
LSU has found two ball carriers it can rely on this season and beyond. This week against Auburn it'll be even more important as the weakness of this defense was brought to a head against Missouri, an offensive style that Auburn runs.
Keeping the ball away from Gus Malzahn, Bo Nix and company will be necessary and the best way to do that is by getting one or both of Emery and Davis-Price heavily involved.
