LSU Football Sees Former Five-Star Running Back Officially Enter Transfer Portal

LSU running back John Emery Jr. has officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal after six seasons in Baton Rouge with the Tigers, he revealed via social media on Wednesday.

The early expectation was that Emery would begin focusing on "life after football," but with another year of eligibility, he's elected to give it a final go for his seventh season.

Emery, who suffered a torn ACL last fall, has missed significant time during his collegiate career after battling the injury bug during his stint with LSU.

Now, after multiple ACL tears, academic challenges that have led to missed games, and more, the Louisiana native will return to college football in 2025.

NEW: LSU RB John Emery Jr. has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, @PeteNakos_ reports.

This will be his 7th season of college football. https://t.co/kSYG7dYADj pic.twitter.com/tRG2sH0PDj
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) April 16, 2025

Emery is in the "early process," so he has not decided the destination of where he will play this upcoming fall, but it will not be with the LSU Tigers.

"No, we haven't talked to John about it," Kelly said when asked if he'd spoken to Emery about a return to LSU. "It was the first that we've heard. We love John, but sometimes, you know, things happen. We don't know where it came from.

"We'll be supportive in any way we can, but we're set where we are at in terms of the running back position. But love John, and we will be here to help and support him. If he's given a seventh year, he is certainly a young man who can help somebody in the Power Four."

During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show last September, LSU head coach Brian Kelly stated that Emery would be preparing for life after football following the injury.

“John, you know, I think it’s always about how you handle adversity,” Kelly said. “Unfortunately, he’s had this before. And I think he’s at a place in his life now that he knows he can do things outside of football. I think that’s what the trap is here, is that many of these young men sometimes didn’t know that they could do things outside of just football. And that’s a shame, right?

"I think building an identity outside of football with these young men is so crucial when you come into football programs. And we’ve done that.

“John knows that he has a life outside of football… is he disappointed? Absolutely. We’re crushed for him. But he knows that he has a life outside of football and now he’s going to be working towards that.”

Now, after putting the finishing touches on his rehabilitation following an ACL tear, Emery eyes a return to the gridiron.

The veteran running back has totaled 1,062 career rushing yards and 14 touchdowns while starting in five games and appearing in 37. He saw most of his production occur in 2020 and 2022, logging 75 and 76 carries, respectively.

More LSU News:

Three LSU Targets to Know: Louisiana Prospects the Tigers "Must" Land

The Buzz: Latest on the No. 1 Safety in America, Five-Star LSU Target

Prized LSU Commitment '100%' Locked in with the Tigers

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.