College Football: 5 favorites who could win 2017 Maxwell Award

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BATON ROUGE, LA – OCTOBER 22: Derrius Guice #5 of the LSU Tigers runs past Myles Hartsfield #15 of the Mississippi Rebels during the second half of a game at Tiger Stadium on October 22, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

Leonard Fournette is gone, so where does LSU go from here? Fear not, Tigers fans, Derrius Guice is one of the top running backs in the country and I’m even predicting that he will have the best year of any back in the SEC, including Bo Scarbrough. The conference is loaded with talented running backs, but Guice has already proven himself worthy of the hype.

How many running backs can average over 5.0 yards per carry? It’s not an easy task, but running backs who average more than 5.0 yards per carry are usually considered in the upper-tier. Where does that put Guice and his 7.6 yards per touch from 2016? If not at the top, near it.

Not many running backs can average 7.6 yards per carry at the collegiate level — that’s a high school-like mark. Moreover, he averaged 8.5 yards per carry as a freshman for the Tigers and that was even while Fournette was still the feature back. He flew under the radar over the last two seasons and now he’s the No. 1 guy.

Guice enters his junior campaign as the clear starter and the go-to guy on offense. He put up over 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns last season and he could surpass those marks while still averaging 7.0-plus yards per touch. This kid isn’t talked about enough.

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