In 2015, Leonard Fournette had one of the most productive starts to a season of any running back in SEC history. By the midway point, he had 1,202 yards and 14 touchdowns, but then he tapered off in a big way.
It's probably no coincidence that fullback John David Moore was lost to a knee injury last season at exactly the halfway mark. He was Fournette's lead blocker in the I-formation and was responsible for paving the way a number of times during that six-game run. Moore, a junior, is back now, and he's primed for what should be another stellar campaign for the Tiger backfield.
"I was 100 percent at the beginning of the summer," Moore told Nola.com. "I was able to do all the things I could do before the surgery and some even more."
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Although Moore's injury came against South Carolina, it wasn't until three weeks later when he tried to play in the Alabama game that he realized the severity of the injury, and that he needed surgery for a torn ACL. Moore, a former walk-on who just earned a scholarship last season, wasn't ready to take the field when Spring practice hit, but he said when LSU starts practicing in full pads next week, he's confident he won't have to overcome the mental aspect of getting hit again.
"We haven't put on full pads yet but I don' think there will be (a mental block) because with the conditioning and strength training we put ourselves through are the same sort of powerful impact we'll be doing with pads on and I've been able to do those perfectly fine," he said. "I don't have any sort of fears. That's a thing I can't control. I'm focusing on my technique and the things I can control. I never tore ligaments like that before, that's the most severe."
