Les Miles wasn't thrilled with Leonard Fournette's Heisman pose
Leonard Fournette, LSU’s prized freshman running back, registered 92 rushing yards and scored his first career touchdown Saturday against Sam Houston State.
Fournette followed his first touchdown, a 4-yard run, by striking the Heisman pose in the end zone. Head coach Les Miles was not thrilled.
“Yeah, I thought Leonard got 92 yards against a pretty good opponent,” Miles said after the 56-0 win Saturday night per The Advertiser. “I think it’s a little premature to launch a Heisman candidacy. I think that he needs to realize too that this is a team. It has nothing to do with a personal liberty.”
Miles knows that Fournette is only 18. He also knows that Fournette is extremely talented and he wants to get across to the freshman that he won’t accomplish much without the help of his teammates.
“There’s a lot of guys blocking for that run,” Miles said. “A lot of effort and energy to help that man score that touchdown, so we’ll make that point. He’s fine. I’d much rather have an enthusiastic, well-felt guy with energy. Maybe he’s a little full of himself, but that’s not all bad yet.”
After the freshman gained just 18 yards in his debut against Wisconsin, Miles said last week he hoped the expectations surrounding Fournette – a former five-star recruit out of New Orleans – would be lowered. Fournette didn’t exactly help that cause with his pose, but Miles attributed that to a bit of youthful exuberance that he can learn from moving forward.
“Just, he needs to realize that things like that happen with a well-designed play and the effort and energy of his teammates,” Miles said. “Things like that (Heisman trophies) happen after you’ve accomplished something very significant.”
The Tigers, now 2-0, will have face Louisiana-Monroe this coming weeend before its SEC opener against Mississippi State on September 20.
For more LSU news, visit TigerBait.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
