Fournette First High Schooler to Win Corbett Award Published: July 23, 2014, 06:39 PM (CT) by Michael Bonnette (@LSUBonnette), Sr. Assoc. Athletic Director/SID NEW ORLEANS – LSU freshman running back Leonard Fournette has been named the winner of the 2013-14 James J. Corbett Award, which is presented annually to Louisiana’s top male amateur athlete, the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee announced on Wednesday. Fournette is the first high school athlete to earn the Corbett Award since its inception in 1967. Some other notable winners of the award include: Pete Maravich (1968 and 1969), Bert Jones (1972), Charles Alexander (1978), Chris Jackson (1989) and Shaquille O’Neal (1991). Christina Hamilton of Louisiana-Lafayette was named the female recipient of the Corbett Award. This year’s Corbett winners will be recognized along with 27 other individuals and three teams at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Banquet on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The winners of the Corbett Award are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, which is made up of current and former media members. As a senior at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, Fournette was regarded as the nation’s No. 1 prep player in 2013. He was named the USA Today National Offensive Player of the Year as well as being selected as a member of the All-USA First Team and the prestigious Parade All-America First Team. The first player in Louisiana history to twice be named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, he finished his high school career with 7,619 rushing yards and 88 rushing touchdowns, including 1,792 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. Fournette, who led his team to a 9-2 record and an appearance in the Division I semifinal game as a senior, was also listed as the No. 1 overall prospect in the nation by ESPN.com and Scout.com and was named the 2013 Mr. Football by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The Corbett Award was created in 1967 and named in honor of the late James J. Corbett to commemorate his many contributions to intercollegiate athletics and specifically to the Sugar Bowl. At the time of his death, Mr. Corbett was the Athletic Director at Louisiana State University. These awards are presented annually to the most outstanding amateur male and female athletes in the State of Louisiana. The Corbett recipients are selected each year by members of the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, based on nominations submitted by the state's sportswriters, sportscasters and sports information directors. Since its inception in 1967 (through 2013), Corbett Award winners include 16 NFL players, seven Major League Baseball players, four NBA players (including two Hall of Famers), eight Olympians (including seven Gold Medal winners), three WNBA players and one PGA Tour star.
Reading all of this about LF caused me to do a little research on Herschel Walker; he rushed for 3,197 yards his senior year in high school! Wow now I know why UGA fans were so excited about him before he ever stepped on the field.
Think about this one......In Cam Cameron’s 1st season as offensive coordinator, LSU Football averaged its most yards per game and scored its most rushing TDs in school history
Mett went from a QB rating of 128.3 to 171.4, He threw 10 more TD's this passed year, with only 1 more INT. His completion % moved up over 10%. LSU last year had a 3rd down conversion of 57.1%, only one team in college football had a better % ever. Too many things went right because of the mesh of Cam and Mett. At times Mett forced the ball, knowing OBJ and Landry would make the catch. I went back and looked at a number of games, all too often the other WR's, TE's and Backs were wide open. Mett forced the ball into OBJ or Landry, he played the odds, they would come down with the ball. Mett made some NFL throws last year. The QB's this year maybe following what Cam wants done a little more. There was a total of 56 points in the Spring game, we will get our points. I saw what Cam did with Mett and the offense last year, what he did with two WR's, and a RB, all getting drafted into the NFL. Mike Detillier was on 104.5 today talking about the LSU OL, he was saying something I've been saying, the OL at LSU looks to be the best that Les has ever had since his arrival, same with the depth. Mike also said that he thought all would get time in NFL camps. I know this, since 2001, LSU has had only 5 OL drafted into the NFL, this will stop. I figure to have at least 5 drafted within the next 2-3 years.
Yep. Just makes it all the more puzzling that he had another guy just like that. We know how that story goes.
Key factors for LSU's third-down success July, 8, 2014 Jul 8 9:00 AM ET By David Ching | ESPN.com BATON ROUGE, La. -- In April, we broke down how LSU's offense led the nation in third-down efficiency last season by converting for a first down or touchdown 57.1 percent of the time. The three key names in that endeavor were quarterback Zach Mettenberger, receiver Jarvis Landry and tailback Jeremy Hill -- all of whom ranked among the nation's most clutch third-down performers. All three are in the NFL now, however, so it will be important for LSU to identify new players capable of keeping drives alive on those all-important downs. Let's take a look at what could become the key factors in LSU's attempt to remain successful on third down. Quarterback efficiency, running ability [+] Enlarge AP Photo, Cal Sport MediaLSU will have a hard time matching the success on third down of departed quarterback Zach Mettenberger. One of the two April posts focused on the need for the Tigers' quarterbacks to play efficiently. Let's face it, whoever wins the starting job -- whether it's freshman Brandon Harris or sophomore Anthony Jennings -- he's not going to zing third-down completions like Mettenberger did last year. The fifth-year senior's 96.7 Total Quarterback Rating on third down trailed only that of Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston (96.9) among FBS quarterbacks. Mettenberger was 58-for-89 for 974 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception on third down according to ESPN Stats & Information. Of those 58 completions, 21 went for 20 yards or more -- a total that was second only to Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater (22). Talented though they may be, a green freshman and a sophomore with one shaky start under his belt are not going to match that kind of passing production. As LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron indicated after the Tigers' spring game, they'll have to play it smart early in possessions in order to keep the offense in manageable down-and-distance situations. Give the young quarterbacks this, though: both of them have an ability that Mettenberger simply does not possess, and it will almost certainly come in handy this fall. Both are good runners, so don't be surprised to see designed runs -- and scrambles after plays break down -- that result in first downs. Jennings was credited with six rushing attempts on third downs last season, with two of them achieving first downs and another achieving a touchdown. Harris showed off some impressive wheels in LSU's spring game, rushing three times on third down for 45 yards and a touchdown. We'll certainly see more of that in 2014 than when the slow-footed Mettenberger was under center. Filling Landry's shoes The question isn't which LSU player replaces Landry's absurd production on third down. It's highly unlikely that one player will do that -- not this fall anyhow -- seeing as how Landry ranked third in the FBS in third-down receptions (28), second in receiving yards (474) and tied for first with six touchdown catches according to ESPN Stats & Information. 2013 FBS Leaders Third-down receptions 35 -- Jace Amaro, Texas Tech 30 -- Justin Hardy, East Carolina 28 -- Jarvis Landry, LSU 27 -- Allen Robinson, Penn State 26 -- Willie Snead, Ball State Third-down receiving yards 478 -- Jace Amaro, Texas Tech 474 -- Jarvis Landry, LSU 432 -- Shaun Joplin, Bowling Green 407 -- Ty Montgomery, Stanford 402 -- Antwan Goodley, Baylor [+] Enlarge AP Photo/Bill HaberTravin Dural caught the game-winning touchdown against Arkansas on third down. LSU has only one returning wide receiver who was even targeted with a third-down pass last season -- Travin Dural caught 5 of 11 third-down passes where he was the intended target and scored two touchdowns, including the game winner against Arkansas -- so it would make sense for the Tigers to spread around the opportunities more evenly this fall. But who will get those chances? Dural is a given, followed by lots of uncertainty. Freshmen like John Diarse, Malachi Dupre, Trey Quinn, D.J. Chark and Tony Upchurch will be in the mix, but it's possible that the quarterbacks will look more often to players at other positions. Using veterans at TE, RB in passing game Since the receiving corps is loaded with inexperience, a good alternative might be the positions where the Tigers return some experience. They're extremely deep at tight end, and one of the talking points of LSU's spring practice was about how the position should be more active this season. Last season, the Tigers targeted the tight end 10 times on third down, but came away with only three completions for 35 yards and one first down. In other words, this will be a two-way street. The tight ends must hold onto the ball consistently if the quarterbacks are to look their way more often. If LSU's spring game was any indication, the chances will be there. Jennings and Harris targeted tight ends on four of their 12 third-down passes, with DeSean Smith catching two of them for 36 yards and a touchdown. Likewise, tailback Terrence Magee made it a point this spring that he'd like to catch more balls out of the backfield this fall. The former receiver could be dangerous as a third-down target judging by his three receptions for 46 yards in that role last season. Fullback Connor Neighbors (one catch on two targets for 4 yards and a first down in 2013) could also become more of a factor in the passing games now that he's taking over for J.C. Copeland in the backfield.
Part 2: Who handles the backfield workload? Hill was arguably the nation's most explosive third-down back in 2013, leading the FBS with an average of 13.28 yards per carry on third down according to ESPN Stats & Information. Although dozens of players carried the ball more times on third down than Hill's 18 attempts, he ranked 10th nationally with 239 yards thanks in large part to his touchdown runs of 37, 49 and 69 yards. 2013 FBS Leaders Third-down yards per carry 13.28 -- Jeremy Hill, LSU (18-239) 11.92 -- Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech (13-155) 10.76 -- Duke Johnson, Miami (17-183) 10.50 -- Larry Dixon, Army (12-126) 10.20 -- Tevin Coleman, Indiana (10-102) Seniors Magee (eight carries, 44 yards, three first downs, one touchdown in 2013) and Kenny Hilliard (eight carries, 36 yards, two first downs, two touchdowns) have handled short-yardage duty well in limited work, but the X-factors might be freshmen Leonard Fournette and Darrel Williams. ESPN's No. 1 overall prospect for 2014, Fournette has LSU fans drooling over his combination of size, power and breakaway speed. He'll almost certainly play a leading role on third down -- and in every other type of running situation -- early in his college career. And Williams was no slouch himself as a prep star, rushing for 2,201 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior at John Ehret High School in Marrero, Louisiana. It's possible that LSU could use all four tailbacks in some capacity, similar to a 2011 backfield that utilized Hilliard, Spencer Ware, Michael Ford and Alfred Blue. Ware led the Tigers with 92 yards on 25 third-down rushing attempts that year, while Blue (16 carries for 85 yards) and Ford (13 carries for 77 yards) led the way with two touchdown runs apiece. With inexperience at quarterback and receiver and a next-level talent like Fournette joining the backfield, conventional wisdom indicates that LSU will lean heavily on its veteran offensive line and the ground game, especially on third downs. The previously mentioned factors will certainly play an enormous role in LSU's attempt to remain effective on third down, but this might be a season where the rushing attack is the most important element in keeping the chains moving.
