In his first five games last season, Leonard Fournette was Herschel Walker reincarnated—-that rare combination of bruising size and breakaway speed that translated into home runs from anywhere on the field, at any moment.
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Those gifts were perhaps no more evident in 2015 than they were against Auburn. His 225 yards and 3 TDs marked just his 3rd best outing of the season, but on touchdown runs of 40 and 29, the world watched in awe as Fournette morphed from an 18-year-old freshman phenom in 2014, to the best running back in college football virtually overnight.
His 29-yard run in the third quarter, though, was the perfect embodiment of a man playing against boys. On Fournette's side of the coin, it was jaw-dropping. On the other side, Auburn safety Tray Matthew's side, humiliating would be the most apt description. Fournette took a pitchout left, made the first defender miss, leaving Matthews with a clean shot at a one-on-one tackle. But for some reason, Matthews decided to go high and dove at Fournette's shoulders, only to be sent twirling through the air heels over head like a gymnast.
Asked about it Friday, Matthews called it a "business decision."
"That's not me at all," he told 247Sports. "When I was going in — and that was my first game back from popping my shoulder out of place — actually didn't hit that whole week and I ain't gonna lie that was probably the worst feeling I ever had in my life when I popped my shoulder out of place. Going into that game, I really didn't know what I was going to do. I saw him coming and I was, like, it was kinda like a business decision because I didn't want to pop my shoulder all the way out of place and miss the whole season. I was like, OK, let me hit him up high and try to grab him and bring him down. I actually jumped too high. My adrenaline was running."
Unfortunately for Matthews, the play will live on forever as one of Fournette's greatest highlights, and one of his greatest low ones.
