Leonard Fournette says skipping bowl game was not his decision
Leonard Fournette drew criticism for skipping LSU’s bowl game this past season, but it turns out the decision was taken out of his hands.
With the oversaturation of college football bowl games, and most of them meaning nothing in the big picture, players with an immediate NFL future can hardly be blamed for sitting out. But that didn’t stop Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette from drawing criticism for their decisions to skip Stanford and LSU’s bowl games this past season, even though the limited shelf life for running backs is clear.
Fournette dealt with an ankle injury throughout the 2016 season, missing a total of five games, and with his eye on the NFL he sat out LSU’s Citrus Bowl win over Louisville. As a sure-fire first-round pick, and with Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith as the cautionary tale from 2016, Fournette should absolutely have an eye on his future and not risk major injury in a inconsequential bowl game.
On Friday, during an appearance on NFL Network from the Super Bowl site in Houston, Fournette offered some clarity on the decision to skip the bowl game.
"“To be honest, it really wasn’t my decision,” Fournette told NFL Now Live. “My coach brought me into the office. He told me ‘You have a lot on the line.’ He didn’t want me to play. I cried like a baby. It was hard for me. That was my first time not really traveling with the team and I couldn’t play in a game with my brothers. I’m going to miss them.”"
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron deserves a ton of credit for taking the decision out of Fournette’s hands, and presumably taking the lead in explaining it to the rest of the team. Fournette could have spoken up about the decision not being his before now, but he has probably had little opportunity to do so publicly.
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Fournette added that he will run at the NFL Combine in a few weeks, which suggests his ankle issue is in the rearview mirror. At this point, Fournette has a strong argument to be the first running back taken this spring.