Slight learning curve for Fournette

Published 7:13 am Monday, October 24, 2016

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">BATON ROUGE — By the time Leonard Fournette finally got back into LSU’s offense, some introductions were probably necessary.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">There was some explaining to do, too.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">A lot had changed since his last appearance against Auburn, back when he was last seen running a flat route at the goal line, then being the first to (falsely) hug D.J. Chark in the back corner of the end zone for what turned out to be a bogus game-winning catch.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Maybe it took some getting used to.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Most of the faces had to be familiar, but, oh gosh, how the roles had changed.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">In fact, it took two offensive series to get him up to speed with the new regime, the different offensive philosophy, the entertaining approach.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Oh, he’d stayed in touch in the three weeks since Ed Orgeron took over as interim head coach, shaking up the offensive staff and approach.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Surely, Fournette heard the rumors.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But a lot of it was subtle, perhaps not readily visible from the sidelines. It’s a lot of the same plays, after all, but with a different rhythm to the play-calling, many different sets and alignments and especially an enlightened, 21st Century acceptance of the forward pass.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">So perhaps he had to get used to it, get acquainted.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Yeah, Leonard, those dusty things over there, they’re wide receivers, and they’re part of the plan now. Some of them will block for you.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The tight ends will still block for you, too, but even they get tossed a party favor every now and then.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This wide open space you see — yeah, crazy, ain’t it — it turns out you can create it by spreading out the defenders as easily as trying to knock them all down.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">This quarterback, Danny Etling — you met him briefly ?before — he’s now being trusted to wing it occasionally, even on first down, and you can count on him to rearrange things to create some of those open spaces.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Bottom line: It’s still your team, but you don’t have to do it all on your own now.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But have fun with it.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">And maybe that’s the biggest change.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">More than any fancy new plays, though, it’s the attitude.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">LSU’s offense looks like it’s — yes, that’s it — actually having fun.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">That’s it. There’s an excitement when they break the huddle, a confidence that fireworks are about to go off.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">So it appears Fournette will fit right in.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Oh, coming into the Ole Miss game there was some idle chatter that, with rave reviews against relative tomato cans, perhaps understudy Derrius Guice was a better suited land option for this attack.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Yeah, right.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Oh, make no mistake —there’s a place for Guice in this offense, but of course there’s suddenly room for a lot of weapons.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Guice and Fournette even shared space in the backfield at the same time. Mixed reviews, but then they’re still working out the kinks.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But in the end, it was still Fournette hogging headlines.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He was probably bracing for the familiar collision on that second run.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Boom — 59 yards later, hardly touched, standing in the end zone.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Later in the second quarter, slightly more juking and shedding, but 76 yards right down the sideline.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">And the capper — was it live or was it Memorex? — 79 yards that required the familiar stiff arm before ending with a gentle trot.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">In the old days, the LSU offense would probably have called it a night.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Saturday it was just the highlights.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“A lot,” Fournette said when asked how the offense had changed since he last saw it. “ I mean, how wide open (on a 40-yard touchdown pass) was D.J. Chark?</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“The vibe of the offense has completely changed and knowing that we have those playmakers on our team to make those catches …”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Actually, the highlight came when Fournette took a swing pass down the sideline and, maybe for old times sake, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to steam-roll another defender, head over tea cup, innocent Rebel lad named Deontay Anderson.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Anderson may be destined to become a You Tube star — he also took the brunt of Fournette’s stiff-arm on the 79-yard run. But give him credit. He kept coming back for more.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Imagine the possibilities when Fournette gets healthy and in shape.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">It took Fournette exactly eight carries to break the school, single-game rushing record of 250 yards (he finished with 284 on 16 carries).</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The three-week layoff did his ailing ankle good, but not his stamina.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He said he was good for no more than two back-to-back carries before summoning for back up.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Everybody thinks I’m healthy,” he said afterwards. “But I’m out of shape, too. I’m like 230-233 right now. Over these next two weeks we have, I’m just going to work on getting myself back in shape and also rehabbing my ankle.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Imagine the possibilities.</span>