LSU great Kevin Faulk discusses Leonard Fournette as a person, player
By Brad Joyal
Published:
Between his breakaway speed, tackle-shedding power and overall dominant demeanor, few people can imagine what it’s like to experience a day in the life of Leonard Fournette.
Since he first stepped foot on the LSU campus, Fournette has garnered widespread recognition as not only one of the best running backs in the SEC, but the entire country.
Only a limited amount of players are fortunate enough to receive such praise during their careers, although one former great Tigers running back, Kevin Faulk, was one of them.
For Faulk, who played his entire 13-year NFL career with the New England Patriots — he’ll be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame next week — the similarities between him and Fournette are tangible.
“Me and Leonard are both pretty quiet. We don’t say much,” Faulk said in a recent phone interview. “Our play speaks for who we are as people and how we carry ourselves. Just from seeing how he carries himself, I feel like that’s the type of person he is. He’s a very family-oriented person. If you see him on social media, most of the stuff he posts are about him and his little girl (Lyric).”
Although Faulk followed the Tigers from afar during his career in New England, the Lafayette, La. native didn’t have to wait for Fournette to enroll at LSU before first hearing about his talent.
“I’ve known about Leonard since he was in high school,” Faulk said. “My old (Patriots) strength coach, Harold Nash, went to the same high school at St. Augustine in New Orleans. Ever since he’s been a freshman (in high school), Harold has been telling me about him. I never had a chance to see him play in high school because we were always playing, but Harold always had somebody keeping tabs on him.”
During his time in Baton Rouge, Faulk took the SEC by storm similar to how Fournette is dominating the college football landscape today. The 5-foot-8 running back rewrote the record books during his four-year career as he held a laundry list of records, a combined 17 in all, for both LSU and the SEC by the time he finished his career in 1998.
He finished his career with 4,557 rushing yards and 46 rushing touchdowns, both of which still stand as records at LSU. However, if there is one player who could surpass some of the accomplishments he achieved with the Tigers, Faulk knows it’s Fournette.
“Special people break records, and he’s definitely one of those special people,” said the three-time Super Bowl champion. “He’s in line to break a couple records, maybe more than a couple of them, but records are made to be broken. It doesn’t bother me because records are made to be broken.”
So what is it that makes Fournette so special? According to Faulk, the New Orleans native possesses a diverse skill set that reminds the former New England running back of another former LSU star.
“Leonard’s spectacular. One player that he reminds me of is Cecil Collins,” Faulk said. “(Fournette) is a very big back with good balance and great power. He’s got good speed and can make you miss. He’s one of those rare backs that can make people miss.”
During his first two seasons with the Tigers, Fournette has run around, over and through opposing defenses. He’s already run for 2,987 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns, gaudy numbers which have made him the clear-cut favorite to win the Heisman Trophy as a junior this year.
Although LSU fans will hope to see Fournette stick around for his senior season, Faulk knows that he already has all of the tools necessary to make a major impact at the next level should he choose to declare for the 2017 NFL Draft.
Still, Faulk realizes that a player’s talent can only be utilized in the right situation.
“Just looking at him and his appearance, how he’s running the ball and how he carries himself, there’s no doubt he’s ready,” he said. “But there’s always the chance that the situation you’re going into is not a successful situation. There’s always a chance of not being able to be successful. But as far as him being ready to go, he’ll be ready.”
While Faulk praised Fournette’s style of play and discussed how much he enjoys watching the All-American run wild in Death Valley, the former Tiger hopes to see him capture one award that he didn’t when he was at LSU from 1995 to 1998.
The Heisman Trophy.
Although Billy Cannon was the only player in program history to ever win the prestigious award back in 1959, Faulk is hopeful this is the year another LSU player will be celebrated alongside the all-time best in college football history.
“It would mean a whole lot to the program. It’s been a while,” Faulk said. “We’ve had six candidates, but nobody has been able to win it as a candidate. It would mean a lot to not only the school, but for him, too.”
Fournette may have been slighted when he wasn’t invited to New York as a Heisman finalist last year, but the running back has certainly received plenty of praise during his first two college seasons.
In fact, the way information is shared and accolades are given is one aspect of present-day college football that Faulk has some difficulty relating to.
“When I came out (of LSU), it was a little bit different,” he said. “They didn’t have all the social media, so we weren’t getting as much of the hype as he is today. But everything he’s getting is well-deserved. He’s earned it all.”
As Faulk prepares to be celebrated for his NFL career in New England, the LSU legend is delighted to see the Tigers have another star making headlines in Baton Rouge. When it comes time for blue chip prospects to choose a school to attend, Faulk said it’s tough to beat playing in the SEC.
“Whenever you’re getting ready to play in college, you want to go to a conference or division that’s one of the best,” he said. “The SEC is definitely one of the best. Year in and year out, we hear about how it compares to the other conferences. So for Leonard to do what he’s doing in the SEC is a great accomplishment. It should give him even more confidence that he can go to the next level and be that guy.”
