Leonard Fournette was a stud last season. Just a sophomore, he ran for 1,953 yards on an astounding 300 carries in just 12 games. Think about that number. It would have been good for second in the NFL last season; only Adrian Peterson broke the 300 attempt barrier.
So it’s no surprise that despite a relatively down year in 2016, Fournette is going pro. He made that announcement via Twitter:
Forever LSU, Forever Buganation pic.twitter.com/sdkN0JaonF
— 7⃣ Leonard Fournette (@_fournette) December 5, 2016
That came on the heels of his true freshman season, when he carried the ball 187 times for 1,034 yards. His 2015 dominance started early: he opened up with 159 yards and 3 TDs at Mississippi State, then ran for 228 and 3 more scores on Auburn, needing just 19 carries to do so. (A ho-hum 12 yards per attempt, to save you the math.) After the Auburn game, he put up 244 and 233 on Syracuse and Eastern Michigan, respectively, adding five more touchdowns to his season total. That’s 864 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground after just 1/3rd of the season.
Fournette did all of this with a highly entertaining style, too, running past, around, and best of all through would-be tacklers. Would you like a 2015 Leonard Fournette highlight video, soundtracked by a Leonard Fournette-themed rap song? Yes, of course you would:
That hot start was obviously unsustainable, though he still managed another 200-yard game in a bowl win over Texas Tech, along with three other 150+ yard outings. He did have just 31 yards in a loss against Alabama, but, come on. It’s Alabama. That game was the end of his Heisman-hype train, which crashed and burned along with LSU’s season, as the Tigers lost their next two games as well.
Still, with the obvious physical tools and on-field production, Fournette would have been a very high draft selection, had he been eligible. Unfortunately, as a true sophomore, Fournette still had another year remaining before he would be allowed to turn professional. Here’s what Mel Kiper Jr. wrote about Fournette in his first 2017 Big Board, published on May 11th of 2016:
3. Big, bruising, fast … but let’s keep an eye on the mileage. Fournette is a dynamic talent, that rare running back who generates excitement for teams drafting in Round 1. But he carried 300 times last season and is at 487 carries in two years. Will LSU use him up?
That’s a legitimate concern for college running backs. College coaches have a much greater incentive to win games than they do to worry about whether their running back might get to his second NFL contract. And so they spam what’s effective. Alabama’s Derrick Henry ran for 395 carries in 15 games in 2015. Running backs also get hit on just about every play. They also take hits while running passing routes, and take hits while blocking in pass protection or while carrying out fakes after play action.
Fournette was almost assured of a top draft position in 2017 after last year. He had nowhere to go but down, with the added possibility of a career-ending injury. Guys like Marcus Lattimore and Willis McGahee both ended up playing in the pros, but Lattimore was never the same, and McGahee very easily could have never played again.
Instead of taking that particular stand, Fournette returned for his junior year, where he did indeed suffer an ankle injury that kept him out of five games, and limited his effectiveness at other times. Though when healthy, he still did amazing things, like putting up 284 yards on Ole Miss, including this play, found by searching YouTube for “Leonard Fournette truck”:
So, after a down season marred by injury, where does Mel Kiper Jr. have Fournette in his most recent Big Board?
2. Fournette, too, hasn’t had an ideal season, as he has struggled with a gimpy ankle and missed four games. Don’t worry about him, though. Fournette’s really special when he’s healthy. At 6-1, 235 pounds, he has an incredible combination of size, speed and power that can make him look like a varsity player hanging with the JV. Mileage was a concern heading into the season, so the ankle injury could benefit him in NFL scouts’ eyes. He had a whopping 300 carries in 2015, and he has only 129 this season.
Second. One spot up. NFL teams know the talent is there, they know he managed to luckily avoid a serious, long-term injury, and he also managed to avoid getting beaten up for another 300+ carries for an LSU team that finished 7-4. On the surface, it might seem like Fournette made the right choice, as he also avoided the inevitable outrage that would have erupted had he decided to sit out.
But he also would have certainly avoided any extra hits, and likely avoided any injury at all. And he’s actually not out of the woods, as if he’s to be believed, he’s rehabbing with the intention to play against Louisville. At this point, though, what he should do seems clear: rest.
It’s only the Citrus Bowl.
