LSU Football's season opener against USC is now just nine days away, and we continue our countdown series with the ninth best LSU player of the 21st century: Leonard Fournette.

There is certainly a case for the program's fourth leading rusher and single season rushing yards record holder to be higher than ninth on this list, but there are some heavy hitters on here and I couldn't figure out who else he could jump.

Fournette is one of the highest-rated recruits LSU has ever brought in. The New Orleans native ranked as the top running back and the fourth overall player in the 2014 class, and he made his presence felt right away.

In 2014, Fournette rushed for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 5.5 yards per carry as a true freshman. His performance on the field was enough to earn him a spot on the All-SEC Freshman list and three SEC Freshman of the Week honors.

After a brilliant freshman campaign, the world knew who Fournette was, but I don't think anybody was ready for what was to come in 2015.

In the Tigers season-opening win against Mississippi State, Fournette rushed 28 times for 159 yards (5.7 average) and three touchdowns. A pretty nice start to the season, wouldn't you say?

After that, all Fournette did was rattle off three consecutive games where he rushed for 225+ yards and 2+ touchdowns. Through week four, Fournette had already rushed for 864 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 8.72 yards per rush. Not to mention, he obliterated an Auburn defender en route to one of his three touchdowns in that game, and that clip still lives on to this day.

Fournette finished his sophomore season with 1,953 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns on 300 attempts (6.5 average). He finished the season first in yards, second in attempts and fourth in average in program history.

Fournette was awarded with countless postseason honors, including being named a consensus All-American, an All-SEC First-Teamer and a Doak Walker Award finalist.

After his historic 2015 campaign, many thought Fournette was in store for an even bigger 2016 season, but a sprained ankle in preseason camp led to him playing in just seven games and amassing just 843 yards and eight scores.

Despite the slow junior season, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Fournette with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He'd go on to have a pretty successful career, rushing for over 1,000 yards twice and winning a Super Bowl in the 2020-2021 season with Tampa Bay.

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