LSU running back Derrius Guice makes his choice in NFL Draft video
BATON ROUGE, La. — Fittingly, LSU’s No. 5 is the Tigers’ fifth underclassman headed to this year’s NFL Draft. Running back Derrius Guice announced Thursday afternoon that he will forego his senior season to go pro.
Fittingly, the social media aficionado made his announcement official with a Twitter video.
“Entering the NFL Draft has always been my goal and is the next chapter in my life,” Guice said in the video. “I’m excited to start this new journey.”
The wait is over tiger fans… #holdthattiger #foreverLSU 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/2i6poGyBQp
— 5⃣ (@DhaSickest) January 10, 2018
“Growing up here in Baton Rouge, it was always my dream to attend LSU,” Guice said. “Having an opportunity to play for this historic university was truly an honor… nothing will ever replace LSU in my heart because you played a big part in raising me from a young boy into becoming a man.”
Guice went on to individually thank the coaches in his life from the youth level on up through high school and college.
Guice leaves LSU as one of the most decorated players at what has been one of the historically strongest positions in the program’s history. In the Citrus Bowl, Guice became the fifth player to cross 3,000 career rushing yards at the school. He joins Kevin Faulk, Dalton Hilliard, Charles Alexander and Leonard Fournette on that very short list.
Slowed by injuries early in his junior season, Guice still rushed for 1,251 yards and 11 touchdowns on 237 carries.
His biggest game this season was against Ole Miss. Guice ran for 276 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. In the process, he became the first player in SEC history with three career games over 250 rushing yards, breaking a record he shared with Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson.
Guice’s sophomore year was one for the record books despite the fact he was technically Fournette’s backup. Guice set the single-season school record for rushing yards in a 285-yard effort against Texas A&M in the 2016 season finale. He also rushed for 252 yards against Arkansas, including a school-record 96-yard touchdown scamper.
Guice led the SEC in rushing yards (1,387) and ryshing yards per game (115.6) as a sophomore despite only starting 6 of LSU’s 12 games.
The Baton Rouge Catholic graduate is expected to be one of the top running backs off the board in the upcoming draft.
Guice joins offensive tackle Toby Weathersby, outside linebacker Arden Key and cornerbacks Kevin Toliver and Donte Jackson as LSU’s early entrants in this year’s draft class.
