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LSU: Leonard Fournette not only five-star recruit to star in past 5 years
By Corey Long
Published:
The LSU Tigers take a back seat to no one when it comes to recruiting and land five-star prospects. Despite questions about their offense, the wide receivers and running backs keep coming to Baton Rouge — a trend that doesn’t look to be ending any time soon.
Here’s a look at the Tigers’ nine five-star recruits the past five years and how they performed:
2011
La’El Collins, OT: Collins played in 45 games with 38 starts. He was named a Freshmen All-American by CBSSports.com despite playing in seven games as a freshman with no starts. He spent his next three years at left guard and left tackle and was an All-SEC performer in 2013 and 2014. He also won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given to the best offensive lineman in the SEC, in 2014.
Collins was expected to be a mid first-round draft choice in 2015 but pulled his named out of the draft after his named surfaced in the shooting death of a pregnant woman he had previous had a relationship with. Collins was not considered a suspect and signed a $1.6 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent.
Anthony Johnson, DT: Johnson played in 40 games with 16 starts over three seasons. He was a CBSSports.com Freshman All-American with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack as a freshman. Johnson had 77 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and seven sacks during his three-year career with the Tigers. He also had an interception. He declared for the 2014 NFL Draft and went undrafted. He signed a free agent deal with the Miami Dolphins and has recently been on the Washington Redskins’ practice squad.
Jarvis Landry, WR: Landry played in 40 games with 12 starts over three seasons. After a quiet freshman year Landry began to emerge as a No. 3 wide receiver as a sophomore with 56 catches, 573 yards and five touchdowns. As a junior Landry had 77 catches for 1,193 yards and 10 touchdowns lining up opposite Odell Beckham. Landry was named to the All-SEC second team for his efforts. He declared for the NFL Draft after his junior year and was drafted in the second round by the Miami Dolphins.
2012
None (four-star LB Kwon Alexander was the highest-rated recruit; an NFL suspension cut short a successful rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
2013
None (four-star CB Tre’Davious White was highest-rated recruit, No. 55 overall).
2014
Leonard Fournette, RB: Arguably the top running back in college football, he has thrilled fans and pundits alike with his powerful running style that draws comparisons to former Heisman winner Herschel Walker. In 24 games (17 starts), Fournette has 2,987 career yards and 32 touchdowns.
In 2015 he was named an All-American by every publication and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was the MVP of the Texas Bowl and goes into the 2016 season as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
Malachi Dupre, WR: In 24 games (10 starts), Dupre had 57 catches for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns. As a wide receiver with one of the highest upsides in college football, it will be up to LSU to find a quarterback to help him reach his full potential as a junior. He, like Fournette, is likely to make 2016 his last year at LSU.
Clifton Garrett, LB: Garrett played three games at LSU before leaving the program after the 2014 season. He enrolled at Arizona Western College and committed to UAB in October of 2015.
Jamal Adams, DB: Adams has played in 24 games (13 starts) and developed from a top reserve as a freshman to a starter. He has 126 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and four interceptions through two seasons. Adams was a member of the All-SEC Freshman team and a Freshman All-American in 2014. He was an All-SEC second team in 2015 and led the Tigers with four interceptions.
2015
Kevin Toliver II, DB: Toliver started eight games as a freshman and had 30 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and an interception. At 6-2, 200 pounds, Toliver looks like the next great LSU cornerback after a successful freshman year.
Tyron Johnson, WR: Johnson played nine games and had nine receptions for 150 with touchdown catches against Ole Miss and Western Kentucky. Johnson will have a chance to prove he’s worthy of lining up on the other side from Dupre in 2016.
Corey Long is a freelance writer for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow Corey on Twitter @CoreyLong.
