Fansided

Justin Fields and college football’s 15 breakout players to watch in 2019

By Connor Muldowney

ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 03: Donovan Peoples-Jones #9 of the Michigan Wolverines catches a second quarter touchdown pass during the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - NOVEMBER 03: Donovan Peoples-Jones #9 of the Michigan Wolverines catches a second quarter touchdown pass during the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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GLENDALE, AZ – JANUARY 01: An LSU Tigers helmet during the college football game between the UCF Knights and the LSU Tigers on January 1, 2019 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – JANUARY 01: An LSU Tigers helmet during the college football game between the UCF Knights and the LSU Tigers on January 1, 2019 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is taking over at running back for Nick Brossette but there’s a former five-star who is pushing him for carries heading into the season.

John Emery Jr., a Louisiana-native and top-15 recruit in the 2019 class, may just be too good to leave on the bench, and Ed Orgeron knows that. Edwards-Helaire might be the starter, by default, but Emery Jr. could show the SEC just why he was one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation by season’s end.

Standing 5-foot-11, 206 pounds, Emery Jr. has plenty of size to run people over and he has the explosiveness in the open field to blow by people. He can do a little of everything and he could end up as a workhorse back for the Tigers soon enough.

If it seems like LSU never has a problem at running back, it’s because it doesn’t. The Tigers reload every year, dating back to Leonard Fournette and they keep churning out NFL talent.

Emery Jr. may be flying under the radar somehow, but he has all the talent to become a household name by the end of his freshman season. Could he reach 1,000 yards? That’s entirely possible.