Leonard Fournette was front and center late last year when the controversy about players sitting out of bowl games brewed.
When the former LSU RB announced he would not play in the Citrus Bowl against Louisville, he portrayed the decision as a mutual one between himself and LSU coach Ed Orgeron. Fournette said at the time that he was still dealing with the left ankle injury that had hampered him all season and kept him out of four games, but he still was criticized by some for not playing.
On Friday, though, Fournette said he didn’t really have a say in the bowl-game decision.
"To be honest, it really wasn’t my decision," Fournette told NFL Now Live. "My coach brought me into the office. He told me ‘You have a lot on the line.’ He didn’t want me to play. I cried like a baby. It was hard for me. That was my first time not really traveling with the team and I couldn’t play in a game with my brothers. I’m going to miss them."
Later in the interview, Fournette reiterated the point, saying "my coach made (the decision) for me."
It’s a little odd that Fournette took some ownership of the decision in December but isn’t now, since he would’ve been spared some of the initial backlash if he had said right off the bat that it wasn’t his decision.
In fact, it’s odd that Fournette would change his tune at all, since sitting out of the bowl doesn’t seem to have affected his draft stock.
Fournette’s health appears to be in good condition now, as he said Friday that he will run at the NFL Scouting Combine next month. He wouldn’t predict how fast his 40-yard dash would be, but he’ll have high expectations going into the event given his rare athleticism.
He’ll no doubt be asked again about the bowl decision at the combine, and it will be interesting to see which story he sticks to.
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