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Derrius Guice ready to take over the SEC

By Matt Green

Dec 31, 2016; Orlando , FL, USA; LSU Tigers running back Derrius Guice (5) celebrates a first down catch inside of the 5 yard line during the first quarter of an NCAA football game against the Louisville Cardinals in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2016; Orlando , FL, USA; LSU Tigers running back Derrius Guice (5) celebrates a first down catch inside of the 5 yard line during the first quarter of an NCAA football game against the Louisville Cardinals in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Quick trivia question: Who led the SEC in rushing yards in 2016?

If you guessed it was a running back from LSU, you’d be correct. But if you guessed Leonard Fournette, last year’s preseason Heisman favorite and likely to be the top running back selected at the NFL Draft, you would be incorrect.

Derrius Guice played in all 12 games in 2016, but started only six. He ran for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns on only 183 rushing attempts, an average of 7.6 yards per carry. To give you an idea of just how productive Guice was, Rawleigh Williams was second among SEC running backs with 1,360 yards on 245 attempts, 62 more rushing attempts than Guice.

Guoce was one of just three players in college football to rush for over 1,300 yards on fewer than 200 carries. And the other two, South Florida’s Quinton Flowers and Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald, were both quarterbacks.

Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /

And while most college football fans might not have been aware of Guice’s ability coming into last season, fans in Baton Rouge were well aware.

Coming out of Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Guice was the no. no. 5 running back and the no. 46 overall player according to the 247sports composite rankings.

And in his freshman year, he displayed that talent, even in a limited role.

Despite playing behind Fournette, who rushed for 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns on 300 carries, Guice still managed to run for 436 yards and 3 touchdowns on 51 carries, an average of 8.5 yards per carry.

But now Guice is the man. And he doesn’t have to share the carries with anybody. Of course, playing in the SEC, there will be multiple running backs that get carries on every team, but Guice will be getting the bulk of the load.

In the five games Fournette missed last season, Guice got 115 of LSU’s 200 rushing attempts, and that doesn’t include the Arkansas and Florida games that Guice got more carries than Fournette.

In 2017, it is going to be the Derrius Guice Show in Baton Rouge, and the SEC and college football world will be tuning in.

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