Injured Leonard Fournette reportedly chose to play vs. Florida because of pregame shoving

The ankle injury that has bothered Leonard Fournette all season appeared to be hampering him yet again before Florida-LSU, according to The Baton Rouge Advocate’s Ross Dellenger.

Then we had some good, old-fashioned scufflin’ before the game. On Saturday during pregame, things came to a head:

Fournette was definitely involved in the pregame shoving match. He’s seen in the above video getting into it with a Florida assistant coach, reportedly DB coach Torrian Gray, and the two were pushing back and forth.

And therefore:

And here he comes:

He did play early, though sophomore backup Derrius Guice got the start.

When players came back out for pregame, coaches and staffers made sure to keep the two sides apart, per Steven Godfrey.

In an otherwise quiet day of SEC football, the one big rivalry game is going to be fireworks. We should have seen it coming, really. Things in this game have always been weird, and in the post-Les Miles era, they’ve become even more bizarre.

This would not have been the first game Fournette would’ve missed because of the ankle, an injury he suffered initially in preseason camp. This would’ve meant that the Tigers would again look to Guice to tote the rock:

Guice is a more than serviceable backup who rushed for 161 yards last year against South Carolina. He rushed for 155 yards this season in a game against Jacksonville State in Week 2. Guice played in Fournette’s place that week after the superstar back got the night off due to the ankle injury.

Guice also filled in for Fournette against Southern Miss, rushing for 162 yards on 16 carries.

The Tigers are two-touchdown favorites at home against Florida in a relocated game, which has potential Sugar Bowl implications for the winner. The Gators can clinch the SEC East with a win.