Nobody is really surprised by Derrius Guice’s decision to leave LSU early for the NFL – least of all Tigers fans, who have seen it happen over and over again with elite running backs.
While it’s far from unusual to see top running backs depart early for the pro ranks, the trend has hit the Tigers particularly hard. In the past decade, no LSU running back to lead the Tigers in rushing has remained with the program for all four years. Even players who weren’t even starters have sometimes left LSU with eligibility remaining.
Guice is following in the familiar path of Stevan Ridley, Michael Ford, Spencer Ware, Jeremy Hill and Leonard Fournette, all of whom left Baton Rouge with one year (or, in Hill’s case, two years) of eligibility left to go.