Former LSU RB Leonard Fournette made headlines last week following his first Jaguars preseason NFL game.

When asked by a reporter about his transition from college to the NFL, Fournette said the speed of the game was much slower than he anticipated, mostly because he played in the SEC.

“It’s a lot slower than I really thought,” Fournette said. “That’s how I’ve been since I first got into the NFL. A lot of people were like, ‘it’s going to be fast.’ But by me playing in the SEC, that kind of helped me a lot. I think to me it was really easy.”

But former Alabama RB Derrick Henry, now a Tennessee Titan, wasn’t quick to pay tribute to the conference. Instead, he paid a huge compliment to the player.

“Some guys adjust faster, but it was probably a lot easier for him because he is a once-in-a-lifetime back,” Henry said, via ESPN. “For me, the NFL was a little bit faster than college because you’ve got guys who played five, six, seven years and knew all the ins and outs of the league.”

Henry is coming off an NFL rookie season in which he rushed for 490 yards. Interestingly, Henry accomplished much more in college than Fournette did — obviously, many factors attributed to this, but it’s clear Fournette’s peers recognize the upside and overall freakish ability that he has, assuming he can stay healthy.

It will be fun to watch the careers of these two former SEC RBs play out.