Leonard Fournette, the top running back and arguably the No. 1 prospect and in this year’s recruiting class, has committed to the LSU Tigers. Multiple recruiting services rank him as the top prospect, enough for him to take the top overall spot in the 247 Composite.
Leonard Fournette commits to LSU: Tigers land nation’s top-ranked recruit
Fournette is widely regarded as one of the best prospects in the 2014 class. He will play his college ball for the LSU Tigers.
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Fournette received interest from schools all over the country and reportedly received at least 100 scholarship offers, though Alabama, LSU and Texas were his official finalists. LSU was considered to be the frontrunner for weeks now, so his commitment to the Tigers is no surprise.
Fournette is a consensus five-star recruit out of St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. At 6’1, 225 pounds, he is a freak athlete and excels at just about everything as a running back. He should step in as a freshman and begin playing immediately in Baton Rouge.
Here is part of SB Nation’s scouting report on Fournette:
Considered one of the top running back prospects to emerge from the high school ranks in the last several years, the most distinguishing feature of Fournette’s game is his combination of size and speed. At nearly 6’1, Fournette is on the tall side for a running back and is a lean but powerful 225 pounds.
And the speed? During a recent track meet, the St. Augustine star posted a 100m time of 10.68, absolutely elite for a running back of his size, which gives him the speed to break long runs to the outside -- he’s not just a downhill, between-the-tackles runner.
As a result, arm tackle attempts are not nearly enough at the high school level to bring down Fournette, in part because he does a good job in traffic of getting low and behind his pads to present the smallest possible tackling surface, a key trait to possess for a tall running back. Whether low of high, it’s extremely difficult to bring him down, a big part of the reason why he scored a touchdown roughly once every six touches as a junior.
This is obviously a huge get for the Tigers. Fournette is an instant-impact starter.
