Fournette ready to run as LSU mulls workload

NFL evaluators have likely had their eyes on the Tigers running back before he even declared to join LSU and after finishing sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting last season, Fournette is reportedly beginning to draw comparisons with football legends.

When asked if he wants as many carries as he can get, Fournette said: “It doesn’t matter”. “My main goal is to win the national championship”. He will begin his 2016 Heisman campaign with a Lambeau Field showdown against Wisconsin on Saturday.

Miles touched on balance, noting that he might take the under on Fournette getting the 300 carries he had in 12 games last season.

Miles envisions an offense that is more dynamic in the passing game and less reliant on Fournette this season, but he also expects that approach to benefit his star running back by making defenses less inclined to crowd the middle of the field and close to the line of scrimmage. However, coach Les Miles has now confirmed Fournette has “no issue with his health” moving forward and he should be good to go against Wisconsin. “I think he has the full arsenal – size, speed, power, vision, toughness and character”, the coach said. “We’re not going to keep him on the field if he’s exhausted, no matter what, and we have real quality backs that way”.

Fournette is clearly one of the top players in the country and is easily the best back in the nation. He left a practice almost two weeks ago with what Miles described as a “slight” ankle sprain.

Despite Fournette’s health, Miles is content with letting other LSU backs carry the backfield burden if needed.

“Fournette reminds me of Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson”, one veteran NFC executive said, via College Football 24/7. “It was nothing too serious”. That’s what Fox Sports college football analyst Stewart Mandel believes will happen. Fournette rattled off a list of areas where he can improve this season – specifically, blocking, catching balls out of the backfield and becoming a more effective leader – but it will be awfully hard to run the ball any better than he did last fall.

“Obviously it’s going to be slower and slower now”, Fournette said.

“I thought Todd Gurley was the best RB prospect I had played against or seen since Adrian Peterson”.

“Overall, those goals are still in the back of my mind”, Fournette conceded, but added that he feels like team goals are far more important, particularly in light of the enjoyment a championship season could bring to fans in the Baton Rouge area who are in the midst of recovery from recent flooding.

You know those life moments that don’t seem very amusing at the time they’re happening, but end up being kind of hilarious in the long run?