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Leonard Fournette, Cam Newton among ‘most fascinating’ sports people of 2016
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Who is the most fascinating sports person for 2016?
If you ask 30-plus panelists like Sports Illustrated did, Stephen Curry is certainly the most popular pick.
However, a couple players with SEC football ties were also picked by a few members, including LSU RB Leonard Fournette and Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton.
CBS Sports announcer Verne Lundquist chose Fournette. Here’s what Verne had to say:
“In October he was performing so well we were all comparing him to Herschel and Bo. It all came crashing down in a 19-carry, 31-yard performance against Alabama in early November and it was as if he had disappeared from our thoughts. How will he respond in 2016? He will not enter the season as the Heisman favorite. That cape will be worn by Christian McCaffrey of Stanford. I’m very curious to see what kind of year Fournette can put together.”
LSU started the season 7-0 as Fournette rushed for at least 150 yards with at least one touchdown in each of those games. That was before his aforementioned disappointing performance in the Tigers’ 30-16 loss to the Tide on Nov. 7, which started a three-game losing streak.
Still, Fournette was a Consensus All-America pick along with Alabama RB Derrick Henry.
Meanwhile, NBC Sports figure skating analyst Tara Lipinski chose Newton. Here’s what Lipinski had to say:
“Full disclosure, my pick is a little 2016 front-end heavy. And it’s certainly dependent on his performance in this season’s playoffs. But I think Cam Newton could prove to be the most fascinating athlete of ’16. He’s currently leading a team that looks to be a front-runner for a Super Bowl appearance—a team that was 2-14 the year prior to drafting him. Newton is one of the most polarizing athletes in professional sports, and that’s what really makes him interesting. People still haven’t quite forgotten the controversy surrounding his career at Auburn, and his confidence (I think we can all agree there’s no shortage of that with Cam) and antics on the field (and in the end zone) can rub purists the wrong way. But contrast his touchdown football giveaway tradition that shows his softer side. Regardless, the guy has personality, and sports are meant to be fun, right? If Newton does manage to win a Super Bowl in 2016, I’ll be curious to see if the public perception of him changes, or if the widely contrasting opinions of his persona will persist.”
Newton led the Panthers to a 14-0 record this season before they suffered their first loss to the Atlanta Falcons 20-13 on Sunday. Still, Carolina is currently the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and has clinched the NFC South division title as well as a first round bye.
Newton is tied for 4th in the NFL with 33 passing touchdowns and is 8th in the league in passer rating (97).
It’s also worth mentioning that Fox Sports anchor Jay Onrait chose LSU freshman hoops star Ben Simmons, who is widely expected to be the first player chosen in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
