Comparing the LSU legacies of Leonard Fournette and Ben Simmons
By Andrew Olson
Published:
In the 2015-2016 NCAA season, Leonard Fournette and Ben Simmons were LSU’s marquee players in football and men’s basketball respectively.
Each of them came to campus as the unquestioned top recruit in their respective sports, two high school superstars converging at the same university in the two biggest college sports.
Simmons is assumed to be finished in Baton Rouge while Fournette will be back for a third season, as draft-eligibility rules differ by NCAA sports. Though the two standout performers are at different stages of their careers, their legacies are comparable.
PERFORMANCE
Simmons averaged 19.2 points and 11.8 rebounds – a double-double – in his freshman season. In LSU’s 33-game season, Simmons recorded a double-double 23 times.
There’s no formula to translate a double-double to football statistics, but for a running back like Fournette, one could say 100 yards and one touchdown per game would be a similar mark of consistent success.
In 2015, Fournette averaged 162.8 rushing yards per game, better even than Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry’s 147.9 yards per game. Fournette ran for 22 touchdowns in LSU’s shortened 12-game season, an average of 1.8 scores per game.
TEAM SUCCESS
On the hardwood, the Tigers’ season ended in embarrassing fashion with a 71-38 blowout loss to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. The presumed lone go-around in Baton Rouge for Simmons was a trainwreck so bad that LSU (19-14) declined an invite to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the postseason consolation prize for teams left out of the NCAA Tournament.
LSU has gone 17-8 on the gridiron during Fournette’s two seasons. Though the Tigers have yet to win a conference title with Fournette, he did help deliver a dominating 56-27 Texas Bowl win over Texas Tech Dec. 30.
INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITION
Simmons recently won the Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year, but was academically ineligible for the Wooden Award, an individual honor comparable to the Heisman Trophy.
Fournette, an Associated Press First Team All-American, was was considered a Heisman candidate until LSU’s 30-16 loss to Alabama on Nov. 7. He will certainly be on many preseason lists for the Heisman as a junior.
Simmons will be a very high draft pick, with a solid chance of being the first No. 1 overall pick from LSU since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992. Fournette might make the first round of the 2017 NFL draft, but a running back hasn’t gone in the top 5 picks since former Alabama RB Trent Richardson in 2012, and Richardson’s poor performance has hurt running backs’ draft status.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
