Derrius Guice might be the best running back in college football you've not yet heard of.
That's primarily because he's a backup, but when you're the backup to LSU star Leonard Fournette, there's really no telling how good a player you might be. Two days after Guice stepped in for an injured Fournette to slice the Missouri defense for 163 yards on 17 carries, LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron did his best to introduce Guice in the only way Orgeron knows how: with some flair.
Guice runs the football the way Hall of Fame defensive lineman Warren Sapp played defense, Orgeron said on Monday. The coach compared him to former USC star Reggie Bush, as well.
"He's got some Reggie Bush-like cuts," Orgeron said, per The Advocate. "He's bigger and stronger than Reggie was, but not quite as fast."
Orgeron coached both Sapp and Bush at the college level in his years as an assistant coach at Miami and USC, respectively. Sapp comparisons, of course, are far more common for players like the Los Angeles Rams' Aaron Donald, but Orgeron is anything but common. We'll assume the Guice-Sapp similarity is related to things like intensity and attitude.
Guice (5-foot-11, 212 pounds), a sophomore, is averaging 8.6 yards per carry for his career. A week before he trounced Missouri, he gashed the Auburn defense for 62 yards on just three carries in support of Fournette.
Fournette, a junior, will decide after the season whether to apply for early eligibility in the 2017 NFL Draft. Such a move would hasten Guice's time in the spotlight, although if Fournette's ankle woes continue this season, Guice's role could expand even more quickly. He's a backup in name only, and at a school that produces NFL running backs as regularly as LSU, he should already be drawing scouting interest.
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