Leonard Fournette

Leonard Fournette
LSU Tigers No. 7
Position Running back
Class Junior
Major Human Science & Education
Career history
College
  • LSU (2014–present)
Bowl games
High school New Orleans (LA) St. Augustine
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-01-18) January 18, 1995
Place of birth New Orleans, Louisiana
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg)
Career highlights and awards

Leonard Fournette III (born January 18, 1995) is an American football running back for the LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University. A former standout at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, Fournette was named the 2013 USA Today High School Football Offensive Player of the Year and was the No. 1 overall recruit in 2014 senior class according to ESPN, 247Sports.com, and CBS Sports.[1] He entered LSU with near-unprecedented hype, and by his sophomore year was regarded by some as the best player in college football,[2] drawing comparisons to all-time greats such as Herschel Walker,[3] and—in terms of pure talent—to baseball's Bryce Harper and basketball's LeBron James.[4]

Early years

Raised in the 7th Ward of New Orleans, Fournette attended St. Augustine High School, where he competed in football and track. His 200 metres regional mark of 21.57 seconds is fastest in 4A, and his 10.68 in the 100 metres is only .02 off the best time. He also competed in the 4 × 100 metres relay and 4 × 200 metres relay. On the varsity football team, he was a starter since his freshman year and compiled 7,619 rushing yards and 88 rushing touchdowns for his career. He rushed for more than 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns his freshman season, and became the first-ever freshman to earn a scholarship offer from Louisiana State.[5] His sophomore year ended with 1,900 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns. As a junior, he registered 2,135 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns, and was an LFCA Class 4A First-Team All-State honoree. In his senior year, Fournette ran for 1,792 yards and 16 touchdowns and added 45 receptions for 745 yards and six scores. Early in the season, he had a heralded performance with two touchdowns and 262 yards rushing against Malachi Dupre's John Curtis Christian, which was nationally televised by ESPN2.[6] St. Augustine ended the season with a 9–2 record and an appearance in the LHSAA Division I semifinal game, where they were upset 31–28 by Metairie Rummel.[7] Fournette was named Louisiana's 2013 Mr. Football by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and also was selected an All-American by Parade and USA Today, as well as USA Today Offensive Player of the Year, the first from Louisiana since Ryan Perrilloux in 2004. After the season, Fournette participated in the Under Armour All-America Game where he caught a 36-yard touchdown pass and rushed for 43 yards on nine carries.

Unanimously regarded as the best running back prospect of his class, Fournette was one of the most highly recruited players ever to come out of Louisiana. ESPN ranked him as the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2014,[8] as did Scout.com.[9] At the 2014 Under Armour All America Game, Fournette announced his decision to attend Louisiana State University.[10]

College career

Freshman season

Fournette's college career was preceded by very high expectations and hype, often being called "the next Adrian Peterson".[11][12] In his collegiate debut against the Wisconsin Badgers on August 30, 2014 Fournette ran for 18 yards on 8 carries.[12] After the game LSU head coach Les Miles downplayed the Fournette hype.[11] In his second game, against the Sam Houston State Bearkats, Fournette rushed for 92 yards on 13 attempts and scored his first collegiate rushing touchdown. In week three of his collegiate career, he faced off against the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. Fournette amassed for 52 rushing yards on 10 carries and added another touchdown.[13] In week four of the 2014 season, the LSU Tigers squared off against the MSU Bulldogs. Fournette rushed for 38 yards on 7 attempts.[13] In week five, The New Mexico State Aggies traveled to Death Valley to face the No. 17 LSU Tigers, and Fournette ran for 122 rushing yards on 18 carries and added 2 touchdowns. This number put Fournette at the top of the Tigers' rushing list for the season.[13] In a game against Florida, Fournette rushed the ball 27 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns to help LSU secure a 30–27 last second win in the Swamp. During a game against undefeated No. 3 ranked Ole Miss, who led the nation in stopping the run, Fournette shook off an early goal line fumble and rushed 23 times for 113 to go along with 2 receptions for 41 yards. LSU ran the ball 12 times for 92 yards on a 13-play 95-yard touchdown drive to upset the Rebels 10–7 in Death Valley. Fournette finished the season against Notre Dame in the Franklin American Mortgage City Bowl with 11 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns and also had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Sophomore season

Fournette rushed for a career-high 244 yards and 2 touchdowns against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, six yards shy of tying Alley Broussard's LSU school record of 250 yards against Ole Miss in 2004.[14] Fournette had an 87-yard scoring run nullified by an illegal formation call late in the game.[15] Against Western Kentucky, Fournette ran for 150 yards, his ninth consecutive 100+ yards rushing game, a streak that dated back to the Texas A&M game in late November 2014. He tied an LSU school record originally established by Charles Alexander in 1978.[16] Fournette's streak ended the very next game against Alabama, the nation's best rushing defense, at Bryant–Denny Stadium. He was held to 31 yards on 19 attempts, as the Crimson Tide handed LSU its first loss of the season.[17] Fournette finished 6th in Heisman Trophy voting with 110 points.

In the 2015 Texas Bowl, Fournette ran for 212 yards and scored five total touchdowns as the Tigers beat Texas Tech, 56–27.[18]

Junior season

On October 22, 2016, Fournette rushed for 284 yards and three touchdowns against Ole Miss for a new single-game school record in rushing.[19]

College statistics

Rushing Receiving
Year Team GP GS Att Yards Avg Long TDs Rec Yards TDs
2014 LSU 13 6 187 1,034 5.5 89 10 7 127 0
2015 LSU 11 11 271 1,953 6.4 87 22 18 209 1
2016 LSU 4 4 83 670 8.3 78 5 12 94 0
College Totals 28 21 541 3,657 6.0 89 41 28 405 1

Source:[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ESPN names St. Augustine's Leonard Fournette nation's No. 1 recruit". New Orleans Times-Picayune. April 18, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Only Thing in Leonard Fournette's Way: N.F.L. Rule Book". New York Times. September 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Herschel Walker: Leonard Fournette 'is better than I was'". The Times-Picayune. September 30, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Leonard Fournette: The best kind of different". ESPN. October 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Scarborough, Alex (June 25, 2012). "2014 running back Leonard Fournette has overcome adversity to excel in life". ESPN.
  6. ↑ "Fournette breaks out: Nation's top recruit Leonard Fournette puts on a show on ESPN2". ESPN. October 8, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Fifth-seeded Rummel shocks St. Augustine, 31–28". The Times-Picayune. December 1, 2013.
  8. ↑ "2014 ESPN 300". ESPN.
  9. ↑ "2014 High School Recruits Ranking". Scout.com.
  10. ↑ "Leonard Fournette commits to LSU". ESPN.com. January 3, 2014.
  11. 1 2 http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24693042/les-miles-wants-to-temper-the-fournette-hype-he-helped-create
  12. 1 2 http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/08/hold_the_heisman_leonard_fourn.html
  13. 1 2 3 http://m.espn.go.com/ncf/playergamelog?playerId=559752
  14. ↑ "LSU's ground attack overcomes sluggish passing game". Daily Comet. November 22, 2004.
  15. ↑ "Leonard Fournette first LSU RB to run for 200 yards in consecutive games". ESPN. September 26, 2015.
  16. ↑ "LSU running back Leonard Fournette matches school record consecutive 100-yard rushing games". SEC Country. October 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Derrick Henry (210 yards, 3 TDs) rolls as Bama contains Leonard Fournette, LSU". ESPN.com. November 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ Jim Kleinpeter (December 29, 2015). "LSU, Leonard Fournette trample Texas Tech in Texas Bowl, 56–27". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Welcome back, Leonard: Fournette smashes LSU rushing record in return". ESPN.com. October 22, 2016.
  20. ↑ http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=27812&SPID=2164&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=209392529&Q_SEASON=2015

External links

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