Leonard Fournette spent last week telling LSU to cancel the celebrity parade. On Saturday, he was right in the middle of the pregame walk.
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Before the Tigers hosted Texas, the former LSU running back walked alongside head coach Lane Kiffin, according to a video posted on X by college football beat writer Jon Blau. It came just six days after Fournette criticized the whole tradition on his podcast.
The man he walked with is the same coach he had just challenged. Fournette made his case on the November 8 episode of 4th and South, a day after LSU’s loss to Alabama.
“They had Shaq come out. They had Angel Reese come out. Angel Reese, Shaq, and Kevin [Costner], they not about to come help us on this motherf******g football field,” Fournette said. “… It does not make no sense to me. Yes, I love everything Coach Kiffin is doing, but that s— has to stop.”
Kiffin is standing by the tradition. After the Alabama loss, he was asked whether he would scale back the pregame show.
“I don’t consider not doing it,” Kiffin said. “It doesn’t have to do with winning or losing games; who walks in.”
He added that who walked in “isn’t why we didn’t execute in the red zone.” He said the walk is about the bigger picture for the program.
“That’s much more from a standpoint of visual, from a program standpoint, from a recruiting standpoint,” he said.
Previously, rappers Lil Wayne and Boosie have also been part of the Tiger Walk. Kiffin was also asked about Costner’s presence, who is a California native. Kiffin simply said they met many years ago, and he’d asked if he’d come watch a game sometime.
But Fournette, on The Pivot Podcast, believes the Tiger Walk has to be more about the players.
“When we was at school, practice was hell,” Fournette said. “That’s the time you put the grind in. To me, the Tiger Walk is a reward for the players.”
LSU banks a lot on its celebrity alumni. During breaks in games, the screen shows former LSU players who made it big in the NFL. The biggest cheers always come for Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who is easily among the more famous names linked with the program. Burrow was a pillar of the Tigers’ National Championship-winning campaign in 2019.
No comment from Fournette on the walk has been reported. HEAVY noted that the video does not show whether he and Kiffin discussed the former’s comments.
LSU was set to retire Bert Jones’ No. 7 jersey at halftime of the Texas game. Jones was the school’s first All-American quarterback.
Whether he changed his mind or simply picked a side, one LSU legend stood next to Kiffin when the cameras were rolling.