SEC Extra Points with Barrett Sallee: Enough with Leonard Fournette NFL Talk
Enough Talk
Every few years, there's a sophomore or redshirt freshman who is so good in college that an inevitable—and largely hypothetical—debate pops up on whether or not that player should skip his third college season and prepare for the NFL draft.
LSU running back Leonard Fournette is "that guy" in 2015, just as former South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was in 2012.
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Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, among others, wrote this week that the New Orleans native should save his body, sit in 2016 and prepare for the NFL draft.
Are you kidding me?
If Fournette publicly was challenging the NFL for early entry, sure, this could be a topic of discussion. He's not. In fact, as ESPN.com's Joe Schad noted on Twitter, Fournette is totally fine with the NFL's rule that mandates players must be three years removed from high school to move on.
Fournette himself even chimed in on the matter.
Maybe, just maybe, Fournette takes just a little bit of pride in helping to lead LSU—one of the SEC's behemoths that's just an hour from his home—back to college football glory. Maybe, just maybe, he recognizes that, while he's immensely talented, there are things he has to work on in order to achieve long-term success at the next level.
Maybe, just maybe, we should let Fournette decide what's best for Fournette and then react accordingly.
The reaction to Fournette should be awe, joy and pleasure.
Instead, a silly debate has surfaced that everybody not named "Leonard Fournette" seems to have a stance on, despite the fact that Fournette's stance is the only one that matters.
Give it a rest until January 2017—when he likely will begin the NFL draft process.
Must-Win
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
In August, when we looked at composite SEC schedules, the Arkansas vs. Tennessee game in Knoxville in Week 5 was supposed to be the battle of upstart programs that were both trending in the right direction.
Instead, it's a battle of two struggling programs just trying to tread water.
The Vols (2-2, 0-1 SEC) will host the Razorbacks (1-3, 0-1 SEC) on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium in what has become a must-win game for both programs.
For Tennessee, a second SEC loss in as many weeks would eliminate any margin for error. With a head-to-head loss to Florida already on the books and games versus Georgia and at Alabama among the six remaining conference matchups, it'd be very difficult to create a scenario in which Tennessee makes the SEC Championship Game after suffering a loss to the Hogs.
But Butch, this one is really must-win. A loss here, and Tennessee won't be anywhere close to taking that gigantic leap forward like many predicted. At best, it'd inch forward slightly.
For Arkansas, this game likely holds bowl hopes in the balance.
At 1-3, the only win you can write in ink on the remaining schedule is against UT-Martin. OK, that's two. Call Auburn and Missouri toss-ups at this point, and still a bowl game seems like something out of the fiction section.
Head coach Bret Bielema needs upsets—plural—along the way simply to earn those ever-so-important bowl practices that coaches crave, and a reeling Vols team is one of its best shots.
"[Tennessee] coach Butch Jones and I entered the league at the same time, and you can see some of the things that he's trying to instill there," Bielema said. "Very impressed with their quarterback and running back.
"A tremendous opportunity. It'll be a good environment for our guys to walk in and experience one of the best environments in college football."
This is a must-win for Arkansas for the sanity of the Razorback fanbase and future of the program.
Open Tryout?
Drew Lock, it's your time at Missouri.
The true freshman quarterback who has seen spot duty throughout the first month of the season will start in place of suspended junior Maty Mauk on Saturday in a big home game versus South Carolina.
Essentially, it's a 60-minute open tryout to keep the job long-term.
Mauk has been wildly inconsistent over the last year-plus. The dual-threat starter for the Tigers has tossed 17 picks since the start of the 2014 season and is a big reason why the offense hasn't been able to get on track this year.
"Anytime we have a suspension, we assess the position of the player coming back on the Sunday after," head coach Gary Pinkel said. "That has happened at any suspension I've ever had in 25 years as a head coach, and we'll do that the same in this way."
Translation: It's Lock's time to shine.
The 6'4", 205-pounder from Lee's Summit, Missouri, is 15-of-25 on the year and was an Elite 11 finalist a year ago at Nike's World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.
If he shines Saturday, write him down in ink as Missouri's new starting quarterback.
X-Factor
It was clear during Mississippi State's 17-9 win at Auburn on Saturday that the Bulldogs passing attack was in its comfort zone.
Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 29 of his 41 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns, operating primarily out of three-step drops and using quick passes to protect his offensive line and let his playmakers do work in space.
Not a bad game plan. After all, it's not like Auburn's offense—which featured new starter Sean White at quarterback—was much of a threat to turn the game into a shootout.
Texas A&M's, however, is a different story.
"A lot of the teams we've played so far this year have been very run-oriented, and this is really the first pass-oriented team we've played," head coach Dan Mullen said.
That was in a response to a question on how Mississippi State's defense will handle Texas A&M, but it's also very important for the Bulldogs offense.
There was a minimal risk of a shootout versus Auburn, but that increases against the Aggies. If that happens, it will play right into Texas A&M's hands. Mississippi State's weakness is its offensive line and A&M's strength is its pass rush, which Mullen knows is one of the best in the SEC thanks to Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall.
"With the ends that he has and the talent [defensive coordinator John Chavis] has, you can't let them pin their ears back and come after you," he said. "You have to be able to run the ball to force them to not be in pass-rush mode all the time, because they're both really, really athletic. We're going to have to mix it up, move the pocket and protect [Prescott] and keep more guys in."
High Praise
A lot of talk this week will center on Georgia running back Nick Chubb's quest to eclipse former Bulldog great Herschel Walker's streak of 12 consecutive 100-yard rushing games. Chubb matched the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner with his 131-yard performance versus Southern last week.
Things get a little bit more difficult this week, though, when Alabama and its vaunted rush defense that's giving up an SEC-best 56.75 yards per game roll into Athens.
Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban isn't just concerned about Chubb, though. The entire group of Georgia running backs has his attention.
"They've got three backs. [Chubb and Sony Michel] have been the most productive and are as good as any duo [in] the country," he said. "They do a good job of executing what they do, and their offensive line blocks well. Their backs do a great job of executing the way they're supposed to and making yards after contact. The combination of those two things make them as good of a running team as we've played in a while."
If Georgia is going to topple the Tide, head coach Mark Richt is going to have to get big games from Chubb and Michel. While quarterback Greyson Lambert has been marvelously efficient over the last two games in which he's tossed just two incomplete passes, he needs to get help from his running game to create the passing lanes he needs to continue to move the chains.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of CFBStats.com. Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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