Ex-Star NFL RB Leonard Fournette Hopes to Regain Top Form for Jaguars

In his rookie season in 2017, Leonard Fournette ran for more than 1,000 yards, scored 10 touchdowns and was one the biggest reason the Jacksonville Jaguars were able to make the playoffs and make it all the way to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1999.

Last season was a completely different matter, as the 24-year-old LSU product was limited to just eight games due to injury and the Jaguars had a dismal season following their breakout year and finished at 5-11.

Entering his third year in the NFL, which kicks off when the Jaguars host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Fournette is hoping to regain the form that made him one of the NFL’s most promising rushers as a rookie.

To do it, he’s dropped 20 pounds and has attempted to improve himself mentally and emotionally as well, according to Bleacher Report.

Fournette simplified his life this offseason, cutting out negative influences and living at a hotel across the street from a gym to limit his distractions. All he did for a period of time was wake up, lift, eat, run and then crash at the hotel.

All that training has paid off, as Fournette sees big things happening for the Jaguars this season, starting with their matchup with the team with the best record in the AFC last season.

“There’s no doubt in his mind—no doubt what’s coming in 2019,” according to Bleacher Report. “Fournette only smirks and offers a ‘We’ll see…’ on the details, because the Chiefs come to town Sept. 8, and what an opportunity that would be to shock the world. One year removed from being one play away from the Super Bowl, Fournette believes these Jaguars are the same contenders. His swagger’s back, and the Jaguars’ swagger is back. ‘You have to have that attitude about yourself,’ Fournette says, ‘that you can’t be messed with, you can’t be stopped.’”

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Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”