SEC Media Days: Guice primed to meet expectations, comparisons

HOOVER, Ala. – When LSU running back Derrius Guice took his seat at his designated dais at SEC Media Days, the flood of reporters rushing to get prime position to ask the former five-star questions could almost be called a stampede. The outgoing and always quote-worthy Guice was by far the biggest star of the day and given how long he’s been waiting for his moment in the spotlight he couldn’t help but smile as he fielded questions.

Then the comparisons with Leonard Fournette started.

“I tend to block out the comparison,” Guice said. “That is a man who I have looked up to for the past four to five years. Ever since he was here, I had a great time learning from him, as I learned a lot.”

As a Louisiana native and a five-star running back, Guice has always been compared with Fournette. But a quick look at the 2016 season stats shows that Guice shouldn’t be viewed as trying to fill Fournette’s shoes. He did that last year when he led the SEC in rushing with 1,387 yards. This year, his sights are set on an even bigger season.

“I'm the same Derrius I was when I was behind Leonard last year,” Guice said. “He's just a step higher, where I wish to be next.”

To understand the chip of Guice’s shoulder one has to venture back to his days as a high school prospect. Despite finishing as a five-star and winning MVP of the U.S. Army Bowl, Guice had to wait longer than most to get his accolades. He committed to LSU early and wasn’t routinely mentioned among the nation’s top recruits.

It wasn’t until just before the start of his senior season that he cracked the Rivals100 before eventually finishing ranked as the nation’s No. 2 running back behind Alabama signee Damien Harris. Even that wasn’t enough as Guice told Rivals.com analysts that he would make them regret the ranking.

So far he’s right.

Guice’s teammates even acknowledge that he’s every bit as good as Fournette and with the work he’s put in this offseason he might be able to be even better.

“You guys saw last year – having those two back there was special, once in a lifetime,” LSU defensive lineman Christian LaCouture said. “With Leonard, I feel like he is more of a bigger back, a bruiser that could go up through the middle. I feel like Derrius could do that as well, but I think Derrius could catch some more balls than Leonard can. With Derrius being a smaller, stockier guy, I think he’s a guy that can do more.”

According to LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, Guice’s time is now.

“I think he's going to flourish,” Orgeron said. “He flourished last year in the last five or six games. He's going to have an even better career this year. I think [new offensive coordinator] Matt [Canada] is going to know how to use him. Matt's going to open up some holes for him. Derrius is a tremendous player. I think he'll end up being after the season, barring any injury, one of the top players in the country, if not the top player in the country.”

LSU’s offense has always featured the running back prominently. But under the direction of Canada, the addition of the passing game will prevent teams from loading up to stop the run.

“Coach Canada brings a lot of awareness for defense, as they must be on their A-game and mentally focused,” Guice said. “It is an offense where there will be a lot of disguises, a lot of motions. This offense will take us as far as we want to go, it us up to us, to the team, to buy into it and to really understand it.”

If all goes according to plan for the Tigers, Guice won’t have to worry about being compared with Fournette or anyone else much longer – at least not until it comes time for the NFL Draft.