HOOVER, Ala. — You knew this thing was getting flat out Les-crazy when the words Michael and Jordan were mentioned in the same breath as an 18-year-old who hasn’t played a down of college football.
Ladies and gentlemen, we introduce Leonard Fournette. And if you don’t yet know what this high school phenom is all about, let Terrance Magee, LSU projected starting tailback, explain the magnitude of it all.
“There’s only one player at the running back position that you can compare him to — Adrian Peterson,” Magee said.
When Magee is reminded that, you know, more Fournette means less Magee, this growing legend of the greatest high school running back ever takes another intriguing turn.
“I mean, who wouldn’t love the opportunity to play in the same backfield with that kind of guy?” Magee said.
Magee is four years older than Fournette. So are La’El Collins and D.J. Welter, the two other players LSU brought to SEC Media Days — an event that quickly turned into wait until you see this Fournette kid.
Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Adrian Peterson. And Leonard Fournette.
“(Fournette) expects himself to be something very special,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “I think if you look at Michael Jordan, he could not have been coached to be Michael Jordan.”
OK, let’s slow down this thing. How in the world can we compare a high school player who rushed for 1,700 yards and 22 TDs as a ninth-grader in the state of Louisiana’s highest division — then got considerably better over the next three seasons — to the greatest athlete in American sport?
You can’t — but there’s no better way to explain the impact of what could be with Fournette than comparing him to the incomparable. Is it fair? Of course not, but it’s not like Miles is one for hyperbole.
It’s not like seniors who have spent three or four years in a program among the elite in the SEC (and therefore, the nation), who have invested physically and mentally in doing everything they can to get better, are going to simply bow to a high school player who hasn’t lived the grind they have.
Yet to a man yesterday, each of those three players’ faces lit up like Tiger Stadium on Saturday night when asked about Fournette, wide smiles overtaking blank stares from the boredom of answering the same question over and over at Media Days.
Collins, one of the most reflective and introspective players this week, was asked about Fournette and used one word: apart.
In other words, he’s apart — he has separated — from anything you’ve seen or think you know about running backs in college football.
“He looks like he has been there three years,” Collins said. “He looks like a guy who knows what goes on. He wants it.”
It’s probably best to remind everyone that Fournette has been on campus all of six weeks. He has lifted weights and conditioned with his new teammates, and has been part of volunteer 7-on-7 drills. He has done nothing — nothing — in pads.
What in the world happens when live hitting commences?
“I can’t wait to find out,” said Welter, a linebacker who likely will get an up-close look into the world of Fournette in fall camp. “Believe me, you guys (media) aren’t the only ones interested.”
The irony in this growing legend is Fournette enters the college game at a time when spread offenses dominate the scene. Gone are the days when teams line up in the I-formation, pitch it to the tailback and run downhill.
And gone are the days when teams load up on one tailback and give him the ball 25-30 times a game. When Peterson was a freshman at Oklahoma in 2005, he had 339 carries.
That would mean Fournette would have to get the ball an average of 24-26 times (depending on number of games LSU plays) to reach that mark. Considering the way LSU has shared carries at the position in a decade of Miles teams, that’s likely not happening.
Then again, Miles never has had a unique talent like this. He never has had a freshman who has turned so many heads in summer 7-on-7 drills, and had every player on his team pumped with anticipation of what could be.
“He caught a pass in 7-on-7 and was running away from guys who have been around here two and three years,” Magee said. “It took me about seven seconds to figure out what we had.”
Go ahead and try to slow down this hype train.
It might just run right by you.