For the past two weeks, sophomore running back Leonard Fournette has played without his flashlight, but thankfully for LSU fans, he’s not afraid of the dark.
Sophomore fullback John David Moore, who Fournette says is his “flashlight,” went down with a knee injury in the first quarter against the University of South Carolina on Oct. 10.
Without having his normal lead blocker, Fournette could have been left running blind, leading to potentially dangerous plays. Fournette, though, wasn’t concerned after Saturday’s win against the University of Florida.
“I feel great right now,” Fournette said. “I’ve got a couple blood shots on me right now, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Fournette dived and dashed head-first behind his offensive line and Moore, both of which do the dirty work for Fournette’s rushing success.
Freshman fullback Bry’Keithon Mouton, Moore’s backup after his injury, stepped in as Fournette’s replacement flashlight against the Gators.
Mouton did not get a carry against then-No. 8 Florida, but he was Fournette’s guide to 180 rushing yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns.
Swapping out different fullbacks didn’t seem to affect Fournette and LSU’s rushing performance last Saturday.
“JD is still at practice even when he is hurt,” Fournette said. “He’s coaching up Bry’Keithon, and he’s doing an excellent job.”
Running behind a second-string fullback didn’t faze Fournette. He was a large part of LSU’s rushing success against the Gators, he said.
“Bry’Keithon did a good job,” Fournette said. “We were on him about how Florida is this and Florida is that. I guess he got tired of hearing that.”
The No. 5 Tigers (6-0, 4-0 SEC) rushed for 221 yards on 41 attempts and three touchdowns against Florida.
The LSU offense looked different without Moore as a main-stay in the 11-man group, spreading out in more wide receiver and tight end-heavy offensive packages.
Without Moore, Fournette relied on his 1,573-pound offensive line more than ever against Florida — the second-ranked rushing defense in the SEC at the time.
After Fournette and company rummaged through the Gators defense, their rushing defense ranking fell, and Fournette loved his offensive line more than ever.
“We go through everything together,” Fournette said. “Everything from blocking for me to practicing together. They do it all.”
The offensive line — led by senior right tackle Vadal Alexander, who was named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week, had one its best performance against the Gators on Saturday.
Alexander was credited for 13 knockdowns against Florida as he and the LSU offensive line didn’t allow a sack against the Gators defense, which led the SEC in sacks before Saturday’s game.
Alexander said he thinks the Tigers could have done better.
“It was a testament to have that many rushing yards against that defense,” Alexander said. “Personally, I think we could have had more too, but we ran for a lot of yards in my opinion.”
Alexander and the offensive line have one goal: Let the quarterback and running back play with the lights on.
“We don’t want [sophomore quarterback] Brandon [Harris] to get touched at all,” Alexander said. “As long as we take care of all the running backs and not let them get touched until the second level, then our offense should keep clicking on all cylinders.”