Leonard Fournette’s college career is officially over after the LSU running back announced his decision to not play in the Citrus Bowl.
Fournette made his announcement on Friday in a news conference, per Ross Dellenger of The Advocate. The decision was made, according to Fournette, by himself and head coach Ed Orgeron. He said his ankle is still not at 100 percent but that he won’t need surgery to repair the damage.
Fournette says he will not need a procedure for the ankle injury, but will just need rest and rehab. #LSU
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 16, 2016
Fournette will attend the Citrus Bowl to support his teammates, who took the news hard.
Fournette on telling #LSU players about the news: "A lot of them got real emotional."
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 16, 2016
One of the best running backs we’ve seen in a long time, Fournette is almost certainly going to be a first-round pick in April at the 2017 NFL Draft. This assumes, of course, that the injury testing done at the combine do not reveal anything that causes teams to move him down their board.
While at LSU, Fournette showed a rare combination of power, elusiveness, speed and nasty. He finished his college career with 3,830 yards and 40 touchdowns rushing, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. He wasn’t utilized much as a receiver but did catch 41 passes for 526 yards and one touchdown.