HOOVER, Ala. — On a day lacking star power, LSU junior running back Derrius Guice stole the show during the debut of the SEC’s 2017 SEC Media Days. Many of the league’s more established and high-profile players are not here, but Guice managed to bring enough energy to fill the void and then some during his appearance.

Before he even took the stage, his head coach did an admirable job hyping up his star running back.

“Obviously Derrius is a really good back, he’s one of the top players in America,” Ed Orgeron said but didn’t stop there. “I think by the end of the year, Derrius Guice will be one of the best players in America in Matt Canada’s offense.”

Senior defensive lineman Christian LaCouture also sang his teammate’s praises, noting that as good as former running back Leonard Fournett was (No. 4 overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft), Guice could improve some areas of the offense.

“He can probably catch balls a little bit better than Leonard (Fournette) can,” LaCouture said.

When asked which running back was tougher to tackle on the practice field, LaCouture picked Guice.

“If I had to pick, I’d think Guice is (tougher to tackle),” LaCouture admitted. “He’s elusive. I know when he first came in, I missed a tackle on him. He’s a guy that won’t stop running.”

After being showered with praise, Guice put on a show for the assembled media.

One of the first questions asked regarded his Twitter interaction with 2018 Texas A&M commit Leon O’Neal Jr. According to Guice, O’Neal was “getting too excited” for someone who has yet to step onto the field for SEC play.

“It wasn’t that serious to me, just a little incoming freshman getting too excited,” Guice said. “I probably won’t even play against him in college. It was just a little fun to me, nothing serious.”

Before moving on to another subject, the LSU back managed to land one last jab at the high school senior.

“A lot of people think they tough until they actually get to college. I’ll see what he does when he gets to college,” Guice continued.

When asked to describe his running style, the junior had an entertaining response to that as well.

“Like a pinball,” Guice answered.

He then was asked if it was fair to call him an angry runner.

“That is fair. My running style is all over the place,” Guice said. “I feel like (the) stronger and wilder you run, you can get extra yards. When you run soft, high, slow, mellow, you most likely aren’t going to get that forward momentum going.”

Guice smiled when talking about his wardrobe, but his interview wasn’t all comical though, as there’s obviously a deep drive that motivates him. When asked where his angry running style comes from, Guice finished his session on a serious tone.

“Yeah, there is something behind that. I guess just what I’ve been through my whole life,” Guice opened up.

“My family is still in it. I guess the reason I run why I run is just to get my family away from it. I don’t want my family in that situation anymore. I’m very fortunate to be here, I’m very fortunate to be alive. I guess I just run for better. For better days for my 5-year-old brother,  for my mom, for my older brother, I run for each of them. That’s where all the anger comes from.”