Leonard Fournette's College Football Career: A Dominating Force at LSU
Leonard Joseph Fournette III, born on January 18, 1995, is an American professional football running back whose college career at Louisiana State University (LSU) was marked by exceptional talent and high expectations. His time with the LSU Tigers was defined by record-breaking performances and a lasting impact on the program.
Early Years and High School Success
Fournette's journey to college football stardom began at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, where he quickly established himself as a dominant force. Raised in the 7th Ward, an area often troubled by violence and gang activity, especially after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Fournette credited Katrina as a turning point, which kick-started his football career after moving to Houston and back within a year because of the hurricane evacuation.
At St. Augustine, Fournette was a four-year starter, amassing 7,619 rushing yards and 88 rushing touchdowns throughout his high school career. As a freshman, he rushed for more than 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns, earning him the distinction of being the first freshman to receive a scholarship offer from Louisiana State. His sophomore year saw him gain 1,900 rushing yards and score 27 touchdowns, followed by 2,135 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns as a junior, earning him LFCA Class 4A First-team All-State honors. In his senior year, he added 1,792 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, along with 45 receptions for 745 yards and six scores.
His performance against Malachi Dupre's John Curtis Christian, where he rushed for 262 yards and two touchdowns, was nationally televised by ESPN2. St. Augustine concluded the season with a 9-2 record, reaching the LHSAA Division I semifinal game.
Fournette's exceptional high school career led to numerous accolades, including being named Louisiana's 2013 Mr. Football by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. He was also selected as an All-American by Parade and USA Today, and was named the USA Today Offensive Player of the Year, the first from Louisiana since Ryan Perrilloux in 2004.
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Recruitment and Expectations
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 player in the nation. Entering college, Fournette faced immense expectations, often being compared to Adrian Peterson.
Freshman Season (2014)
Fournette's college debut against the Wisconsin Badgers on August 30, 2014, saw him rush for 18 yards on eight carries. After the game, Tigers head coach Les Miles downplayed the hype surrounding Fournette. 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.
During the fifth week of the season, against the New Mexico State Aggies, Fournette ran for 122 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns, placing him at the top of the Tigers' rushing list for the season. On October 11 against SEC rival Florida, Fournette rushed the ball 27 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns, contributing to LSU's 30-27 victory. Against Ole Miss, Fournette rushed 23 times for 113 yards and had two receptions for 41 yards. He finished the season with 11 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns against Notre Dame in the 2014 Music City Bowl.
As a freshman, Fournette lived up to expectations as one of the most highly-touted signees in LSU history by setting a school freshman rushing record with 1,034 yards. He played in all 13 games with six starts. He ranked sixth in the SEC in rushing with 79.5 yards per game and was fourth in kickoff returns with a 26.0 average. He led the league in all-purpose yards with 137.4 yards per game. In the six games he started, he rushed for 100 yards or more four times and he averaged 98.5 yards and one TD in each of those games. He scored at least one rushing TD in seven games and caught seven passes for 127 yards, including 40-yarder in win over Ole Miss. Took over as the starting running back for the Tigers against Florida and responded with 140 yards and a pair of TDs on 27 carries in the 30-27 win over the Gators. The 140 rushing yards were the most by a LSU true freshman running back since Justin Vincent racked up 201 rushing yards on 18 carries versus Georgia at the 2003 SEC Championship Game. Added 85 yards on kickoff returns against Florida to finish with 225 all-purpose yards. Followed that with 40 yards and a TD in win over Kentucky. Rushed for 113 yards on 23 attempts in LSU’s 10-7 win over No.
Sophomore Season (2015)
Fournette's sophomore season was record-breaking. He started the season strongly with 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Mississippi State. In a victory over Auburn, Fournette finished with 228 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for a career-high 244 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse, just six yards shy of tying Alley Broussard's school record of 250 yards against Ole Miss in 2004. The following week against Eastern Michigan, he rushed for 233 yards, becoming the first player in Southeastern Conference (SEC) history to rush for 200 or more yards in three straight games. Against Western Kentucky, Fournette ran for 150 yards, his ninth consecutive 100+ yards rushing game, tying a school record originally established by Charles Alexander in 1978.
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As a sophomore, Fournette set school records with 1,953 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns. With an average of 162.8 rushing yards per game, he won the NCAA rushing title. He finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting, earning 110 points.
Consensus First Team All-American in what was a phenomenal sophomore campaign … Led the SEC and nation in rushing with 162.8 yards a contest … Finished season with 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns - both LSU single-season records … Averaged a staggering 6.5 yards a carry … Tied the school record with 10 games of at least 100 rushing yards and set LSU mark with four 200-yard games … Added 19 receptions for 253 yards and a TD … Capped season with a NCAA bowl record-tying five touchdowns (4 rushing, 1 receiving) to go along with 212 rushing yards in LSU’s 56-27 win over Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl … Broke LSU single-season rushing record when he ran for 159 yards against Texas A&M, surpassing Charles Alexander’s 1,686 yards in 1977 … Became the fastest player in LSU history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season as he did it in five games … Became only the 10th player in FBS history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in the fifth game of a season … Is the fastest player in LSU history to reach the 2,000 rushing yard milestone, accomplishing the feat in only 303 carries and 18 career games … Fournette’s 834 rushing yards were the most by an LSU player through four games in school history and the most by any FBS player through four games since at least 2000 … He is the first player in SEC history to rush for 200-plus yards in three consecutive games doing so in wins over Auburn (244 yards, 3 TDs), Syracuse (244 yards, 2 TDs), and Eastern Michigan (233 yards, 3 TDs) … Rushed for 150-plus yards in seven straight games in 2015, becoming the first FBS player to do so since UCF’s Kevin Smith in 2007 … His streak of 11 straight games with at least one rushing touchdown is a school record … Fournette’s 12 rushing touchdowns were the most through the first five games of a season by any player in LSU history (as were his 11 TDs thru 4 games) … Fournette’s 631 rushing yards were the most by an LSU player through three games in school history and the most by any FBS player through three games since at least 2000 … Is the first player in LSU history to record eight rushing TDs in the first three games of the season and only the second to reach at least eight TDs thru three games (Dalton Hilliard had 4 rush, 4 rec. TDs in 1982) … He is the first LSU player to rush for 200-plus yards in back-to-back games … Became the fastest player in LSU history to reach the 500-yard and 600-yard rushing mark, doing it in three games … Became the third LSU player to rush for at least 100 yards in the first three games of a season, joining Charles Alexander (1977, 1978) and Charles Scott (2008) … Became the first LSU player with at least 100 rushing yards in the first five games of a season … LSU is 13-2 when Fournette rushes for 100-plus yards … With three 200-yard rushing games, Fournette joins Kevin Faulk (4) and Charles Alexander (2) as the only Tigers with multiple 200-yard rushing performances … Owns three of the Top 10 spots on LSU’s single-game rushing yards record list … His 387 rushing yards was the most by an LSU player thru 2 games … Rushed for 233 yards and 3 TDs on 26 carries vs. Eastern Michigan with TD runs of 3, 75 and 11 yards … Shattered his career high for the second straight week with 244 rushing yards and 2 TDs at Syracuse … His 244 rushing yards at Syracuse were the most rushing yards by an LSU player on the road and the third-most in a game of all time … Rushed for a career-high 228 yards and tied a career-best with 3 rushing TDs on 19 carries in LSU’s 45-21 win over No. 18 Auburn … Opened game with a 71-yard run that set the tone for a contest that saw LSU rush for 411 yards, its second-highest total in a conference game … Scored on runs of 40, 29 and 1 yards in helping LSU build a 38-7 lead late in third quarter … All of his rushing yards came in three quarters of action as he was just 23 yards shy of breaking the school record despite sitting out the fourth quarter … Averaged 12.0 yards per carry, a school-record for a back with at least 15 attempts in a game … Set then-career highs with 28 carries, 159 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs in the opener at Mississippi State … Averaged 5.7 yards a carry vs.
Junior Season (2016)
Entering his junior season, Fournette was expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy. However, a high ankle sprain during a scrimmage game prior to the 2016 season hampered his performance. He returned for the season opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field but re-injured the ankle and missed the next week's game against Jacksonville State.
Fournette re-injured it against SEC West rival Auburn on September 24, causing him to miss the next two games. On October 22, his first game back, Fournette rushed for 284 yards and three touchdowns against Ole Miss, setting a new single-game school record for rushing yards. With his ankle still not fully healed, Fournette was not expected to play against Florida on November 19, and did not suit up for pregame warm-ups. However, after a pregame scuffle between the teams in which Fournette shoved a Florida assistant coach, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron granted Fournette permission to play.
On December 5, 2016, Fournette announced his intention to enter the 2017 NFL draft. To avoid injury, his coach told Fournette to skip the 2016 Citrus Bowl, which LSU won over Louisville.
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Slowed for most of the year by an ankle injury suffered in training camp … Played in seven games, starting six times … Finished with 843 yards rushing and eight touchdowns … Caught 15 passes for 146 yards … Rushed for 100 or more yards in first four games that he played in 2017 … Broke LSU’s single-game rushing record with 284 yards and three touchdowns in 38-21 win over Ole Miss on Oct. 22 in Tiger Stadium … Earned second team All-SEC honors from both the SEC Coaches and the Associated Press in 2016 … Opened season with 138 yards vs.
College Statistics and Records
Fournette finished his college career having rushed for 3,830 yards, the fourth-most by a player in LSU history behind Charles Alexander, Dalton Hilliard, and Kevin Faulk.
One of the top running backs in LSU history despite having his final season with the Tigers cut short due to an ankle injury … In only 32 games, worked his way all the way to No. 4 in LSU history in rushing yards with 3,830 … Finished career No. 2 in school history in all-purpose yards per game (155.7), No. 3 in overall touchdowns (42), No. 4 in rushing touchdowns (40) and all-purpose yards (4,981), No. 7 in scoring (252) and No.
Fournette's single-game achievements are equally impressive:
- Attempts: 32 vs. Florida, 2014
- Yards: 284 vs. Ole Miss, 2016
- Touchdowns: 4 vs. Texas Tech, 2015
- Long: 89 vs. Ole Miss, 2016
- Receptions: 4, 3x (Last: vs. Texas Tech, 2015)
- Touchdowns: 1 vs. Texas Tech, 2015
Fournette's single-game highs also translate to significant rankings:
- No. 1 in yards per rush (17.8 vs. Texas Tech, 2015)
- No. 1 (tie) in touchdowns responsible for (5 vs. Texas Tech, 2015)
- No. 1 (tie) in scoring (30 vs. Texas Tech, 2015)
- No. 1 (tie) in touchdowns scored (5 vs. Texas Tech, 2015)
- No. 1 (tie) longest kickoff return (100 vs. Wisconsin, 2014)
- No. 2 in rushing yards (284 vs. Ole Miss, 2016)
- No. 4 in all-purpose yards (309 vs. Texas Tech, 2015)
He also holds records for most Overall TDs in a game (5) vs. Texas Tech, Tied with Kevin Faulk vs. Kentucky, 1997; Carlos Carson vs. Kentucky, 1977, Most Rushing TDs (4) vs. Texas Tech, Tied with Domanick Davis vs. Houston, 2003, and most Overall TDs (5) vs. Texas Tech, Previous: 4 by Domanick Davis vs. Houston, 2003, and Previous: 24 by Domanick Davis vs. Houston, 2003.
Professional Career
Coming out of college, Fournette was highly touted as a top ten pick in the upcoming draft. He arrived at the NFL combine weighing in five pounds heavier than his playing weight in college and opted to only participate in the vertical jump and 40-yard dash. At LSU's Pro Day, Fournette opted to only partake in positional drills.
Fournette was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars and had immediate success, including rushing for over 1,000 yards as a rookie. He later signed with the Buccaneers, playing a large part in winning Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs.
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