Let me help you out..... If he had looked like Hershel Walker in camp, in front of the coaches eyes, he would be getting that number of carries. If he was THAT MUCH better than Hilliard and Magee, he would be getting 20 carriers, and they'd be getting 4 or 5. LF is averaging about 15 total touches a game, for LSU, which plays in the SEC.
Hill was much better than both and still split time. Hill never got the bulk until mid season. Hill averaged 17 carries a game last year and was one of the better backs LSU has had. Its just how Miles runs it. Which is fine btw, but on one hand you guys compare him to Hershel, AP, etc, yet do not account for the facts of how much different they are being treated. Like, what would the kid have needed to do? The Oline played like complete shit vs Wisconsin.. And LF only got 8 carries and lost yards because of a bad pitch. Im not saying LF is the next big thing, but if ya'll can't see the huge potential this kid has, ya'll are blind. This kid has all the tools. Maybe the college game is a bit fast for him, but by mid season I think we will all see what the hype is about.
I'm watching us hand the ball off to 4 pretty solid backs. LF is probably the fastest. And I like him. But like you said, Les likes to split carries. It does a couple of things for you --- #1 it keeps the ball in the hands of fresh legs #2 it keeps all 4 backs in the mix, thus keeping them happy #3 You can recruit to it --- "Even as a Freshman, if you're good enough, and learn to pick up the blitzes, you will get carries" #4 When those backs get to the Pros, they have les mileage on them than their peers. Look at the backs from Alabama.
I 100% agree that is why the comparison from LSU fans is silly. We will honestly never really know. At most, if LF7 lives up to his bill, he will get 250'ish carries in season 2/3. Scott got like 249 one season I think. Further, LF7 leads the team in runs of 20+ yards or more.
I agree. 200 carriers for a back under Les Miles is a lot. That's more than 15 per game, including the bowl game. 'Cause that's how he rolls.
Is that what happened with Jeremy Hill...who WAS that much better than everyone else last season? In his two years he only had a few games where he went over 20 carries. He had 345 carries for his career! HW had more than that in each of his last two seasons. That's just not the way CLM plays his backs. These guys could be looking all world in practice and CLM is still going to platoon his guys unless the game is on the line...case in point, Hill getting almost 30 carries versus Bama in 2012 and over 20 carries against Iowa in the bowl game last year. CLM values fresh legs over a Heisman candidate and that doesn't bother me at all but it might bother some of the more elite recruits at the position.
Even if he never becomes even a serviceable backup running back in the league, as long as he is a special teams ace, he will make a great living in the NFL. Good for him.
Indeed. Balancing these factors is something that Les must do every season. We have lost running backs to season-ending injury an awful lot in the last decade. Experienced depth at running back is essential for a contender in the SEC. But Les must allow special athletes a chance to be special, even as he stockpiles them. I think if Fournette or Dural's play on the field earns some All-American attention, Les will give them the football frequently. Les can't buy that kind of TV attention from prospects. If showhorses emerge, I expect Les will hitch his chariot to them, get completely quotable, ham it up for the cameras, and project his best "you really want to come do this with us" image.
This is true, and for the record I don't know where the Walker comparisons came into play. I'm not in any way trying to take anything away from Fournette or his talents, he may turn out to be a great back and I'm sure he will. I just don't see why all the criticism of @red55 for making a true statement. He isn't in the same league as Herschel Walker and I think it is pretty safe to say he won't ever be. Is he good, sure, will he be great? Possibly. I sure as hell hope so, I don't have anything against the young man and I want him to succeed but to compare or expect him to be as good or better than one of the greatest RB's to ever play college football is just a bit unfair in my opinion.
