Leonard Fournette focused on winning out with Tigers

LSU junior tailback Leonard Fournette rushed for 101 yards on 16 carries in last Saturday's 18-13 loss at Auburn, which was the final game of the Les Miles era.
LSU junior tailback Leonard Fournette rushed for 101 yards on 16 carries in last Saturday's 18-13 loss at Auburn, which was the final game of the Les Miles era.

Leonard Fournette leads the Southeastern Conference in rushing yards per game.

That, however, is where the normalcy begins and ends this month for LSU's sensational junior tailback.

Widely expected to be a leading Heisman Trophy candidate on a contender for the college football playoff, Fournette instead has been hobbled out of the gate and now competes for a 2-2 team heading into Saturday night's home game against Missouri. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder from New Orleans also plays for a new mentor, with Les Miles having been fired this past Sunday and replaced by Tigers defensive line coach Ed Orgeron.

"It's shocking, but at the same time, we understand it's a business," Fournette said in a news conference. "We develop such a great relationship with these coaches. If you don't have a father or a mother, you could always go in and talk to one of them.

"Everything happens for a reason. I don't question anything."

Fournette and the Tigers suffered a three-game slide last November that led to rampant speculation that Miles would be fired, but LSU defeated Texas A&M in the regular-season finale, and Miles was retained minutes later by athletic director Joe Alleva. The Tigers seemed to unleash the emotion of that experience on Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl, shredding the Red Raiders 56-27, with Fournette accounting for five touchdowns.

LSU began this season with a 16-14 loss to Wisconsin, with Fournette suffering a late ankle injury that sidelined him for the 34-13 victory over Jacksonville State the following week. The Tigers made a quarterback switch from Brandon Harris to Danny Etling during the win over the Gamecocks, but a lackluster 23-20 victory over Mississippi State was followed by last Saturday night's chaotic 18-13 loss at Auburn.

Now unranked with a remaining schedule containing the ranked quintet of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, the Tigers could be hard-pressed to make a bowl game, but Fournette insists this season is far from over.

"I just want to win out and show everybody that, despite everything that's going on, we're still us," he said.

What "us" is will not only be up to Fournette and his teammates but Orgeron and new offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger. Orgeron said this week that LSU's offense will "spread the ball out a little bit" and be "more creative in the passing game."

Fournette, whose 138 rushing yards and 38 receiving yards comprised 68.5-percent of LSU's offensive output against Wisconsin, still will be prominently featured. Orgeron, though, has been preaching more of a team aspect since taking over.

"It's important for me to get the whole team bought in, because once you get the whole team bought in, then you've got a football team," Orgeron said. "Leonard is a big piece of what we're doing. Leonard is a great guy. I've talked to him, and he's totally in.

"We expect him to do great things, but, to me, it's all about the team."

Fournette's 128.7 rushing yards per game pales to the 162.8 he averaged last season, but Fournette has said for the past couple of years that team goals mean more than any individual accomplishments. The Tigers are 19-10 during Fournette's career, and Fournette is assured of having losing records against Auburn (1-2), Alabama (0-2) and Arkansas (0-2) should this be his third and final season in Baton Rouge.

Those totals have occurred while playing under Miles, who is someone Fournette doesn't plan to forget any time soon.

"We have plenty of memories, from the jokes he would tell us to the dabbing, to him just trying to understand our generation with all the songs," Fournette said. "Everything we had together was great."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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