Fans can be right to question recruit’s decisions

You hear the sarcastic comments from disappointed fans every time a prized recruit chooses one rival school over another.

“Good luck with your career while never winning a championship.”

“Good luck piling up empty stats against average opponents.”

“We’re still going to win with or without you.”

In most cases the words are just a bitter acknowledgement that the star recruit would have been a valued member of that fan’s team.

But in the case of Leonard Fournette, we now have a full body of work to examine. The running back from New Orleans chose LSU over Alabama in early 2014. He will leave LSU after this, his junior season, with lots of highlight-reel runs, lots of yards and lots of NFL promise.

But he won’t leave with a championship of any kind. He won’t leave with a win over Alabama.

In his career against the Tide, Fournette will finish with 57 carries for 145 yards, an average of 2.5 yards per carry.

Fournette is going to go down as one of the great backs in SEC history. But he never won a championship. He piled up empty stats against mostly average opponents. And the college team he did not choose is perhaps on its way to a second straight national championship. In this case, those fans who questioned the star recruit’s decision were right.

For Threaded Fasteners, I’m Randy Kennedy with Nuts and Bolts of the Game.