Many have wondered if LSU running back Leonard Fournette might consider sitting out the next college football season, but head coach Les Miles isn’t one of them.
Fournette is already NFL-ready, that’s crystal clear.
Blessed with out-of-this-world talent and physicality, the LSU star is in a league of his own against his college football peers. However, based on a rule that prohibits players from entering the NFL until they are three years removed from high school, Fournette isn’t eligible for the 2016 NFL Draft.
He’ll either need to play another year in college or sit out as a means to protect his body until the 2017 NFL Draft comes around.
When asked if he thought Fournette might consider sitting out the 2016 college football season, Miles said he “couldn’t imagine” such a scenario.
“I can’t imagine that Leonard would be sitting anywhere inactive for a fall. I just can’t possibly imagine it,” Miles said on his weekly call-in show, per the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Truly, the rule in this case seems absurd. However, it’s important to remember Fournette is the exception, and a rare one, at that. And, while there is no doubt he’d still likely be a high draft pick in 2017 if he did sit out, some believe NFL personnel would question his love for the game.
Like it or not: if Leonard Fournette announced he was sitting out next season, every GM in the NFL would question his love of the game
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) September 29, 2015
While this may be true, what a tragedy it would be if Fournette did come back to LSU in 2016 and suffered an injury like the one that took Marcus Lattimore out of the game.
This will certainly be a story we track throughout the winter and into next spring.