LSU star running back Leonard Fournette has suffered his first setback of the 2016 season.
Luckily for the Les Miles and the Tigers, it should take more than a mild ankle injury to slow down one of the Heisman Trophy favorites.
Miles told reporters on Tuesday that Fournette, a unanimous CBS Sports First Team Preseason All-American, suffered a "slight" ankle sprain in the Tigers' recent scrimmage. The "LSU injury" alarms first went off when No. 7 was reported to be in a walking boot.
Leonard Fournette sprained his ankle in the #LSU scrimmage.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 16, 2016
He's in a boot.
Miles said the injury occurred at the end of an 8-12 yard run in Tuesday's scrimmage when a player "laid on him." It's not a high ankle sprain, according to Miles, but there is no timetable for his return to action.
"He'll be fine," Miles said, according to The Advocate.
If Fournette is missing from LSU's season opener against Wisconsin, it greatly changes the makeup of the Green Bay-based Power Five showdown. Talented sophomore Derrius Guice (a four-star prospect in high school, per the 247Sports Composite) can carry a full workload if needed but in 2015 the distribution of carries was heavily weighted in Fournette's favor.
Even though the injury seems minor, it's another issue coming from LSU's fall camp during heading into a crucial 2016 season for Miles and the Tigers. The expectations are sky-high -- oddsmakers have the Tigers pegged as a double-digit win team -- and it seems like anything short of SEC West contention will be a disappointment in Baton Rouge.
Losing Fournette would be the ultimate disappointment, but there have been enough injuries in camp to raise concern already.
Presumed starting defensive end Christian LaCouture and reserve linebacker Isaiah Washington are both likely gone for the season because of knee injuries sustained earlier this month, senior outside linebacker Corey Thompson is expected to miss a few games (but not the entire season) with a lower-leg injury, and former five-star receiver Tyron Johnson left the program last Thursday.
