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Leonard Fournette was the No. 1 overall player out of St. Augustine High in New Orleans back in 2014 when he signed with the LSU Tigers.
From the moment he stepped on campus in Baton Rouge, Fournette was a star.
Fournette rushed for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns as a freshman in 2014. He was even better in 2015, rushing for 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns. Fournette was limited to just seven games in 2016 due to injuries and still rushed for 843 yards.
For his three-year LSU career, Fournette rushed for 3,830 yards and 40 touchdowns. He is No. 4 on LSU’s career rushing list, while the three players ahead of him all played four years.
Fournette was drafted No. 4 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2017 NFL draft. He was an instant success for Jacksonville and helped lead the Jaguars to the AFC championship game.
The next two years didn’t go as planned for Fournette in Jacksonville, and he was released ahead of the 2020 season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which had signed the legendary Tom Brady at quarterback, signed Fournette to provide depth at running back.
It was a quiet season for Fournette as he rushed for just 367 yards in the regular season in a backup role.
However, in Tampa Bay’s first playoff game at Washington, starter Ronald Jones went down with an injury, and Fournette received his opportunity.
In the win over Washington, Fournette rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown. He also scored in wins over the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers en route to Tampa Bay’s appearance in Super Bowl LV.
Buccaneers’ head coach Bruce Arians recently spoke to the media ahead of the Super Bowl and discussed Fournette, praising him for being ready when called upon, per Matt Howe of 247Sports.
It’s very, very hard when you’re a superstar, and you’re the focal point of the offense, and you come to a [different] team, and you’re basically a role player for a while. It’s a very hard role to accept. I just told him, ‘This team is special, and you’re a huge part of it. Embrace your role – you never know when your role is going to change.’ Then, Ro got hurt. He got COVID, and then he got hurt. I’m really, really proud of Leonard and the way he’s handled it.
Now, Fournette is one win away from being a Super Bowl champion and will enter unrestricted free agency at age 26 with an opportunity to find a starting role once again.