Derrius Guice is no longer a secret in college football.
Leonard Fournette’s 2015 Heisman campaign made it possible to overlook the 5-foot-11, 212-pound pinball during his freshman season, despite his 8.5 yard per carry statline, a 161-yard performance and a 50-yard end-around touchdown showcasing his breakaway speed on national TV.
Junior fullback J.D. Moore said Guice’s next-level talent has always been at LSU’s disposal — Fournette’s ailing ankle just opened the door for him to seize the day and put his name on the map.
And carpe diem he has. The sophomore leads the nation with 9.1 yards per carry, more than half a yard more than the No. 2 back, and his resume entering this weekend features back-to-back games with 163 and 162 yards with five touchdowns.
For Moore, that translates to frustration for opposing defenses, because whether Fournette is injured or taking a breather, they never have a break from defending one of the country’s most dynamic running backs.
“There is no relaxation from a defender’s standpoint now,” Moore said. “We wouldn’t ideally want to have Leonard sit out these games. [But] it’s been effective for us to have Darrel and Derrius run the way they have so that when he comes back, he’ll be another bullet in the chamber.”
That bullet will be back in the chamber for the No. 25 Tigers and No. 23 Rebels matchup on Saturday, said to LSU coach Ed Orgeron.
Fournette was seen practicing full-speed on Monday and Tuesday during sessions open to the media and is expected to play for the first time since Sept. 24 when LSU (4-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) faces off against Ole Miss (3-3, 1-1 SEC) at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.
“He had a great week of practice,” Orgeron said on The Jim Rome Show Thursday. “We’re looking forward to seeing him on Saturday night.”
Fournette’s return spells trouble for the Rebels’ inefficient rush defense.
Fournette — the SEC’s active leader in rush yards (3373) and rushing touchdowns (34) — has eclipsed 100 yards both times he’s faced Ole Miss, totalling 221 yards on 48 carries.
It’s no longer just Fournette they have to worry about.
Last Saturday, Guice became the fastest Tiger to 1,000 career rush yards by attempts with just 113 carries, a benchmark Fournette took 184 carries to reach.
“Being able to rely on any of them at any time to step in is a huge advantage for us because you never know when a guy’s going to need a breather,” Moore said. “They go for a long run into the redzone, and we have to take him out to give him a rest. We know the next guy up is going to be just as effective.
Orgeron said the Rebel defense, which concedes 215.3 yards per game and has allowed 13 rushing touchdowns this season, may have to make extra adjustments to a new wrinkle in the Tiger offense: Fournette and Guice in the backfield at the same time.
“You can only imagine,” Moore said. “Put two of their best plays together, and then there’s the possibility of either of those happening. That’s going to be hard to defend.”
The duo’s performance against Auburn, Fournette’s last game played this season, may have showcased a microcosm of what the Rebels will see this weekend. A noticeably gimpy Fournette and Guice combined for 163 yards on 19 carries, including Guice breaking off a 52-yard gain on one of his three carries.
Though this time around, Guice is expected to receive a heavier workload in rhythm with Fournette coming off a three-week hiatus.
“It will be tough to stop,” junior quarterback Danny Etling said. “When you have two of the best backs in the country in the same backfield, that’s always nice. It will be a nice tandem.”
Senior offensive guard Josh Boutte said he knows Ole Miss will respect Fournette and Guice equally after Guice’s breakthrough performances leading up to this weekend, but defending their distinct play styles is a difficulty in itself.
While Fournette’s wheelhouse is plowing through defenders into the open space, Guice’s speed affords him a “catch me if you can” style, he said.
“They have a bit of a different game, [but] their mentality is the same — they’re not going to let one person tackle them,” Boutte said.
The tandem will help Etling, too.
“We have such great running backs that guys have to flow up and stop them, so you get a lot more holes to throw into,” Etling said. “And we have great receivers who can make plays after they catch it.”