BATON ROUGE, La. — From Billy Cannon in 1959 to Charles Alexander in 1977 to Leonard Fournette in 2015, LSU has had no shortage of stars who left their mark on the Tigers’ running back legacy.

Derrius Guice is next in line.

With his rare combination of speed, power and elusiveness, Guice has the tools and the opportunity this season to become the next Tiger great.

He also has the chance to do something no Tiger has: win back-to-back SEC rushing titles. Just three SEC running backs since 1950 have accomplished the feat. Georgia’s Herschel Walker won three consecutive rushing titles from 1980-82. Alabama’s Johnny Musso won back-to-back titles in 1970 and ’71, and Arkansas’ Darren McFadden most recently did it in 2006 and 2007.

“(Guice) has the size of all the big backs in LSU’s history, (guys like) Stevan Ridley and Jeremy Hill,” former LSU running back Jacob Hester told Saturday Down South. “But he also has the speed of the fastest running backs in the country. That’s what really sets him apart. He can beat you in multiple ways.”

Guice has 1,823 career yards. He’ll enter 2017 just 384 yards short of cracking into Tigers’ top 10 career rushing list after notching the fourth-highest single-season mark in LSU history with 1,387 rushing yards last season.

Guice’s success brings the inevitable comparisons between the Baton Rouge native and Fournette.

For Hester, the difference lies in their running mentality.

“Leonard was always looking to punish the defenders,” Hester said. “(Guice) doesn’t necessarily pride himself on running over defenders. He just wants to get past them whichever way he can.”

Throughout his LSU career, Fournette awed fans, teammates and coaches with his ability to run through tackles.

In one of the most memorable plays of his career, Fournette tossed Auburn’s Tre Matthews over his shoulder to avoid a high tackle during the Tigers’ blowout win against Auburn in 2015.

Although he channeled his inner Fournette when he trucked Louisville’s kicker during a kickoff return in the 2016 Citrus Bowl, Guice’s knack for making moves on defenders became his calling card last season.

Guice put on a show against Texas A&M in 2016, breaking the Fournette’s single-game rushing record with 285 yards on 37 carries and showcasing his ability to make defenders miss on a pair of 45-yard touchdown runs.

Although Fournette and Guice can take over games with explosive plays, Guice’s versatility gives him an advantage by keeping defenders on their toes.

“Most of the time when you have a bruising running back, as a defender you are sitting back waiting for them to try to run over you,” Hester said. “But with Derrius, you can’t do it because he’ll switch it up on you. He’ll run through you, and then the next time he’ll put a juke move or a spin move or a stop-and-start on you and then you look silly.”

Guice’s dynamic skills combined with the lack of a next-level backup and the expected evolution of the passing game during Matt Canada’s debut season as LSU’s offensive coordinator could translate into an “all-time special” season for Guice in 2017, Hester said.

In the past decade, the LSU running backs corps thrived with two-deep, three-deep or four-deep rotations, allowing the top back to stay fresh throughout the season.

In 2010, Ridley notched a 1,000-yard rushing season despite tallying just 48 percent of the carries while splitting time with four running backs and dual-threat quarterback Jordan Jefferson.

During Fournette’s record-breaking 2015 campaign, the New Orleans native had 300 carries — 71 percent of the running backs’ total — sharing the load with Guice (51 carries), Darell Williams (61 carries) and Nick Brossette (12 carries).

Guice shouldered 57.5 percent of LSU’s total carries during the five games Fournette missed in 2016, translating into 68 percent of the Tigers’ offensive production on the ground.

“So many years in the past, LSU has really had two, maybe three or even four running backs that they rotate through,” Hester said. “… Even when Leonard was at his height, they were still giving him rest and playing different running backs, where I think Derrius is going to be the guy (this season).”

Despite leading the SEC in rushing last season, Guice will become the full-time feature back for the first time in 2017 after the departure of Fournette to the NFL.

“Derrius does have some guys behind him, but I think more than any other year in the past it’s going to be him,” Hester said. “He’s going to be the one guy. He’s going to be on the field almost 90 percent of the time.”

Throughout the Les Miles era, the Tigers’ run-first offensive mentality allowed defenses to lock in on the run by loading the box, leaving the Tigers to rely at times on an inconsistent passing game.

Under Canada, the offense will look to create a balance between featuring Guice and establishing the passing attack.

In his only season at Pittsburg in 2016, Canada’s offense ranked No. 10 in scoring (42.3 points per game) and was the only Power 5 team to score at least 28 points in every game.

LSU finished in No. 68 in scoring offense (28.3 points per game) and No. 101 in passing offense (190.1 yards per game) last season.

A more potent passing game could lead to more one-on-one matchups for Guice.

“(Canada is) going to have more of a passing attack and more formations and things that LSU hasn’t had in the past,” Hester said.  “That’s only going to open up holes for Derrius … At the end of the year, everyone knew that Derrius Guice was going to get the ball.

“But (Steve Ensminger) did such a great job of calling play-action and different things that it freed up some holes. I think you’re going to see that open up more for the running backs than you have seen in a long time.”