LSU Football: Is Derrius Guice already better than Leonard Fournette?

LSU football alumnus Leonard Fournette was one of the best running backs in school history. Has Derrius Guice already supplanted him?

As a backup for the Tigers in 2016, Guice compiled 1,387 rushing yards, 106 receiving yards and 16 total touchdowns. He led the SEC in rushing yards, and he wasn’t even the first option on his team.

It’s not like the guy in front of him was all that bad. Leonard Fournette was the fourth overall selection of the 2017 NFL Draft. He will be playing professionally in Jacksonville this fall leaving the reigns of the LSU offense in Guice’s capable hands.

Guice topped 100 yards six times last season. Here are his total carries per game in games that he was held under the century mark: 2, 5, 3, 16, 2 and 19. The only two games in which he got double-digit touches and failed to eclipse 100 rushing yards came against Ole Miss (57 rushing yards on 16 carries) and Florida (83 rushing yards on 19 carries). The Tigers blasted Ole Miss 38-21 and were stymied on offense against Florida, losing 16-10.

More:  Derrius Guice does a pretty good Ed Orgeron impression

At his best, there is none better than Guice. Leonard Fournette set the single game record for rushing yards against Ole Miss last season, churning out a whopping 284 yards on the ground on just 16 carries. Guice managed 57 yards that game. In the regular season finale, Guice exploded for 285 yards against the woeful defense of the Texas A&M Aggies, breaking the record Fournette had set just weeks ago.

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If Fournette is has the talent to be a top four NFL draft selection, how high could Guice go? There’s more factors at play, but this is the kind of player that you stop what you’re doing to watch. His running is smooth with clean cuts and precise turns, yet powerful and able to blow through defenders. Guice isn’t just the heir apparent to Fournette, he could be the new and improved version.