Every week of the season has been the Leonard Fournette show, but don’t tell that to Florida State running back Dalvin Cook.
Cook stats don’t take a backseat to anybody, and if you ask him, he thinks he is in the discussion for being the best running back in the country, and maybe even the best.
Here are some quotes from Sports Illustrated:
The speedy Cook has fewer rushing yards (1,037) and touchdowns (11) than the bruising Fournette (1,352 yards and 15 touchdowns on 176 carries), but Cook has 49 less attempts. Yet he averages more yards per carry (8.17) than Fournette (7.68).
“Leonard’s a great guy,” Cook tells The Inside Read. “He’s a great running back. All the comparisons and everything, everybody’s going to have their opinion. We’ll just have to see at the end of the year.”
That’s why Cook welcomes the debate about him and Fournette, who he watches film of regularly along with Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott. Cook and Fournette spent time together when they played in the 2014 Under Armour All-America Game.
So what’s Cook’s opinion on whether he’s the best running back in college football?
“In my eyes,” Cook says, “yeah.”
And this time, he didn’t laugh.
There is no doubt that the debate on who the best running back in the country could rage on forever. Between Elliott, Cook, and Fournette you got three backs who going to make a living playing on Sundays, so you can’t really go wrong either way.
For me personally, I would take Fournette out of the three because I think he is the biggest freak of the bunch and you just don’t see guys like him come along often. That said, I wouldn’t be angry if I got stuck with Elliott or Cook on my football team. They are all great players.