With the LSU football team’s annual National L Club Spring Game approaching this Saturday, two of LSU’s top offensive pieces, junior running back Leonard Fournette and senior wide receiver Travin Dural, said they have much to work on.
After a record-breaking 2015-16 season filled with highlights, not many people would think Fournette, the NCAA’s 2015-16 leader in rushing yards per game, has anything to work on the spring.
But he said he does on Tuesday.
“Just being a leader,” Fournette said. “That’s the biggest thing I’ve been working on during the offseason. Just helping out off and on the field. … Some days we may be tired as a whole. School, tutoring, may be wearing us out. At the end of the day, my job is to boost their energy, give them hope, that you can still get better when you’re tired.”
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound running back hasn’t gotten a ton of workload this spring. In most of the scrimmages, LSU coach Les Miles said he’s only handed Fournette nearly 10 carries per live contest.
Not getting the bulk of touches during practice doesn’t “bother” Fournette at all, he said.
“At the end of the day it’s not just me,” Fournette said. “They have multiple guys that’s on scholarship and also has the same ability as me and probably can do better.”
Along with getting the lightened workload, Fournette is mainly excluded in the famous “Big Cat Drill” in the beginning of practices, were two players line up and collide into each other.
“That’s a blessing,” Fournette said. “I got in there one time, that was my freshman year against D.J. (Welter) and I lost. I lost terribly, I rather stay 0-and-1.”
Dural says he’s “100 percent”
LSU senior wide receiver Travin Dural has sat out most of spring practice after suffering a torn hamstring injury in LSU’s 38-17 loss to Ole Miss on Nov. 21.
Dural said in his procedure the doctor had to “shave off” a portion of his bone attached to his right thigh muscle, so the surgeons could reattach his hamstring. Dural said he’s “good” now and the recovery process wasn’t as difficult as he thought would be.
“I would say I’m pretty much 100 percent,” Dural said. “In June, I’ll be full blown everything, working out everything, I’ll be good to go.”
While watching from the sides, Dural said he’s noticed a lot of different formations and plays within the Tiger offense. The Breaux Bridge native also said the offense is “flowing” and the offense as a whole has “grown up.”
Now, in his final year as a Tiger, Dural is seeing coaching from a third wide receivers coach in four years. He said the chemistry between the captain and route runners isn’t there yet but is “coming along.”
“We’re kind of making a connection everyday,” Dural said. “I’m a little bit older, he looks upon me to ask things about the offense. … We’re starting to get a little closer. He’s a guy that loves football, he wants the best from all of us.”
“Energetic” new defense
The LSU defense has seen a complete makeover this spring with defensive coordinator Dave Aranda bringing a new style, but LSU sophomore running back Derrius Guice noticed the energy the defense is bringing to practice.
“We have an energetic defense,” Guice said. “They move around a lot, we need that energy on the field. We need guys moving around, flying around and stuff. It just changes everything that we do on the field.”
To heighten the energy, defensive players have also been shuffled around this spring. Senior defensive lineman Tashawn Bower moved from defensive end to outside linebacker, senior safety Corey Thompson has moved closer to the line of scrimmage, from safety to outside linebacker.
Also, Junior defensive tackle Davon Godchaux had moved to defensive end earlier in the spring, but he’s back on the inside, working at the nose guard position under Aranda’s scheme.
“The edge is pretty good,” Godchaux said. “Get a lot of single blocks so I can make a lot plays in the four-I. But, now coach [Orgeron] moved me to nose guard, so I’m making a lot more plays in that position.”
The 6-foot-4, 293-pound lineman said playing the nose guard position can be “rough” mainly because he has to do a the “dirty work” in that position, but likes that he’ll be versatile come next season.

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Emily Brauner

LSU junior wide receiver Travin Dural (83) walks off the field during the Tigers' 31-14 defeat against the University of Arkansas on Nov. 14. 2015 in Tiger Stadium.