Being a rookie in the NFL is unknown territory for each and every new entry to the league.
There's the new city. New teammates. New playbook and coaches. And about 10-12 games in, the rookie wall. Considering all of these factors, as well as where each rookie fits with his respective team, it's difficult to project how the new guy might fare.
That is, unless the new guy in question is your former teammate.
Leonard Fournette found himself in these shoes this week when it came to fellow former LSU running back Derrius Guice, who's now with the Washington Redskins. He didn't temper his expectations.
"He's going to have a great year," Fournette said Friday, per the Times-Picayune. "He always had the talent when I was there at LSU. He's a hard worker. He's a great kid. Big things are going to come for Derrius this year."
This might seem like a case of a biased former teammate giving his fellow Tiger a boost, perhaps with a tinge of unrealistic expectations. But this prediction is also coming from a running back who just got a firsthand experience of playing the position as a rookie bellcow back with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The result: 268 rushes for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns, as well as 36 receptions for 302 yards and an additional touchdown, all in 13 games.
"I know that rookie year," Fournette said. "It's a long season from the draft, then to minicamp and then to (training) camp and then the season. It's a long process."
Should we expect something similar from Guice? No, but if his LSU numbers are any indication (Guice finished with 3,074 career yards at LSU, fifth most in school history and one spot off Fournette's 3,830 yards), he stands to make an impact that could enter the same zip code as that of Fournette.
