Leonard Fournette shoves Florida assistant in scuffle (Video)

LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette got caught in the heat of the moment in a pre-game scuffle, including shoving a Florida Gators assistant.

As soon as the game was rescheduled after being cancelled during Hurricane Matthew, you knew there was going to be animosity between the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators. Since the initial cancellation, it’s basically been name-calling and shots-fired back-and-forth. Apparently the two teams couldn’t even wait until the opening kickoff to get their hands on one another. During pre-game a “fight” broke out that involved an interesting scene for Leonard Fournette.

The LSU star running back, who reportedly was set to miss his final home game, found himself in the middle of the grouping when the kerfuffle broke out. Then a Florida assistant coach—defensive backs coach Torrian Gray—got into his face.

Though we don’t know what was said, you can clearly see Gray in the running back’s face, initially bumping him. Then you can see Fournette give the coach a few minor shoves before the pair was ultimately separated as the scuffle died down:

Well that’s not a good look for anyone. Fournette has to know better than that. But at the same time, Gray shouldn’t be behaving like that towards an opposing player as an assistant coach either.

Certainly you don’t want to overreact and call for Leonard Fournette’s draft stock to crash now. However, it’s interesting to see him in the heat of the moment considering offseason events. In the preseason, TMZ released a video that apparently showed the running back in a street fight with his teammate. Fournette and LSU both downplayed the incident, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.

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As stated, there were early reports that Fournette would miss this game due to injuries. However, those reports seemed a bit dubious when the running back ran onto the field in full gear. We’ll see if he suits up for what’s sure to be a heated game with the Gators. What’s more, we’ll see if there’s anything that comes from his involvement in the pre-game skirmish.

Update

As it turns out, Fournette was indeed slated not to play on Saturday. However, being bumped by Gray and the entire incident ignited a fire beneath the running back. And when he asked to play, the increasingly beloved Coach O obliged. Good luck containing an angry Leonard Fournette, Gators.