Each year college football writers and pundits put out a list of players and teams that we should watch. Of course, if you watch a lot of Division I football, you will hear the names Ohio State, TCU, Alabama and LSU.
One player that has garnered a lot of national attention is Leonard Fournette, a running back for Louisiana State University. He is in his sophomore season there after having a terrific first year. Fournette’s star began to rise when he was a stellar running back for St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. St. Augustine has long been a football powerhouse in the state and has sent its share of players to both college and to the NFL. They have also had some of their games televised by ESPN. So Fournette has followed a number of great student-athletes from this venerable high school.
Fournette has not disappointed the Tiger faithful this year. LSU is undefeated, and Fournette is running over, around and through would-be tacklers. For example, during a three-game stretch, he was averaging more than 200 yards per game.
Recently, LSU played the University of South Carolina in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, because of flooding and hurricane conditions in Columbia, South Carolina, home of the Gamecocks.
Leonard Fournette rushed for 158 yards in LSU’s victory over South Carolina. All of the monetary proceeds went to the hurricane relief fund set up in South Carolina, which was under a state of emergency.
What happened after the game was one of the most poignant and heart-warming moments you will ever see at a college football game. Just as the television reporter was getting ready to interview Fournette about the victory, he pulls out a prepared statement and reads it.
In the statement, he expresses his empathy and deep concern for the citizens of the state of South Carolina because of the hurricane and the destruction left in its wake. Fournette goes on to state that he fully understands what they are going through because of what he, his family and the city of New Orleans went through with Hurricane Katrina.
