Senior defensive lineman Christian LaCouture won’t be the only Tiger wearing No. 18 during the 2017 season.
LSU announced that senior fullback J.D. Moore would also be wearing the number after LaCouture was chosen to wear the number for this season in the spring. It is the first time that LSU has two players wearing that number in the same season. However, NCAA rules stipulate that players are allowed to wear the same number as long as they are not on the field at the same time.
“This team has a number of guys who would be a perfect fit to wear No. 18 for the Tigers and I am very proud that both Christian and J.D. will get a chance to do that,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said in a press release. “The leadership they have shown makes them both a great choice.”
Moore – who holds a 3.995 grade point average – originally came to LSU as a walk-on tight end in 2013, and eventually earned a scholarship as a redshirt sophomore before the 2015 season. Moore would pave the way for star running back Leonard Fournette that season before suffering knee injuries in games against South Carolina and three weeks later against Alabama, ending his season.
In the five games Moore started in 2015, LSU ran for an average of 346.4 yards per game. Fournette also had three 200-plus yard games in that span. Witout Moore, the LSU running attack sputtered against Arkansas and Ole Miss, averaging just 122 yards in those two games.
In 2016 Moore returned to form, opening holes for both Fournette and sophomore running back Derrius Guice. Fournette finished with 843 yards and 8 touchdowns in seven games, while Guice ran for 1387 yards and 15 touchdowns in 12 games. In Moore’s 18 games as the starting fullback, Fournette and Guice have combined to individually rush for 200-plus yards in six games, and have both set the school record for the most rushing yards in a game.
In 2017, Moore is shifting to an H-Back role – a hybrid tight end and fullback position – under new offensive coordinator Matt Canada. On his career, Moore has 17 rushing yards on seven carries and 11 catches for 59 yards.
Moore joins Jacob Hester as the only fullbacks to wear the number since the tradition was started in 2003 after the number was worn by quarterback Matt Mauck. Mauck led the Tigers to a national championship that season, and passed No.18 onto Hester, who wore it from 2004 to 2007.
LSU players to wear No. 18
Matt Mauck, 2000-2003
Jacob Hester, 2004-2007
Richard Dickson, 2008-2009
Richard Murphy, 2010
Brandon Taylor, 2011
Bennie Logan, 2012
Lamin Barrow, 2013
Terrence Magee, 2014
Tre’Davious White, 2015-2016
