St. Augustine running back is one of a kind.
Louisiana has produced a bounty of great high school football players and sought-after college football prospects.
But there are great high school football players — and then there are legends.
Leonard Fournette is the latter.
A youth football phenom, Fournette enrolled at
St. Augustine (New Orleans) in the fall of 2010 already standing 5-foot-11 and weighing well over 200 pounds.
Leonard Fournette, St. Augustine
Photo by Roddy Johnson
That season, Fournette backed up the hype by rushing for 1,735 yards and 22 touchdowns on 175 carries, earning all-Metro honors by the Times-Picayune as well as a spot on the
MaxPreps Freshman All-American Team.
Most famously, he netted an offer from LSU, being the first ninth-grader to do so.
Fournette was slowed by injury as a sophomore, but it didn't prevent him from producing.
He still managed to improve on his freshman statistics, posting 1,975 yards and 19 scores, good enough for
second team Sophomore All-American honors.
By last fall, Fournette was unstoppable. He carried the Purple Knights to a 9-4 season by rushing for over 2,100 yards and a whopping 31 touchdowns.
Now a senior, Fournette is the nation's No. 1 running back and No. 2 recruit regardless of position,
according to 247Sports.
LSU and Alabama appear to be the two main contenders for Fournette's services.
Whether Fournette stays home to play at LSU or play for the nation's No. 1 team in Alabama, it's pretty clear that the legend of Fournette, four-plus years in the making, is still only beginning.
