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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
In 2 back to back offensive plays, LSU freshman running back Caden Durham did not merely rack up 157 yards & 1 direct TD (while setting up another)....the 2024 debutant catapulted the Tigers towards a much needed anxiety release (up 14-0 in a blink of an eye) & jettisoned Brian Kelly's Tigers to a highly sought after complete team win (42-10).
Yes, it was against South Alabama, but on a weekend where top 25 teams of all kinds dropped games & subsequently fell in the rankings, including LSU's next opponent Ole Miss, Brian Kelly's Tigers took care of business in resounding, hard nosed, hard hitting style....a tone set by their star freshman back's next level violent running & dual threat capabilities.
On the game's first touch, Durham caught a swing pass in the flat & raced through, around, and beyond South Alabama's sprawling, helpless defenders for a 71 yard touchdown reception, hitting another gear of speed no other player on LSU's roster possesses.
The former Duncanville football / track state champion was far from done, taking a hand-off on the next offensive snap 86 yards to the 1 yard line, racing right through the teeth of Major Applewhite's defense with that same impossible pace South Alabama couldn't handle or even come close to stopping.
Barely tackled as he dove for the score, Durham's 86 yard run set up QB Garrett Nussmeier's 1 yard rushing touchdown on the next play.....
....before the student section's acid had a chance to kick in, LSU was already up 14-0.
157 yards after just two snaps.....ridiculous video game style football.....playing out before our eyes by a real flesh and blood human being.
Adding another catch for 15 yards, a few more rushes at 10 yards, 8 yards, 6 yards....each gallop, Durham gained positive yardage, wore down South Alabama, and recorded 196 total yards and 2 TDs after the 1st quarter alone.
It has to be one of the greatest freshman performances in LSU history, just that 1st quarter alone, and yet Durham kept chugging away on each of his 10 1st half touches, amassing 217 total yards (128 rushing, 89 receiving) while making 7 would be tacklers miss.
Leaving the game with a hobbled ankle before halftime, Durham exited carrying one of the ultimate displays of Tiger greatness I've witnessed during the Brian Kelly Era, an unabashed will to become the best.....and Durham's every touch of the ball exemplified the direction LSU is headed under Coach Kelly.
Looking for players blessed with the same attributes & character as young Tigers like Caden, or Ahmad Breaux, Gabe Reliford, Ashton Stamps, Colin Hurley, Dashawn Spears, Trey'Dez Green, Dominick McKinley, Aeron Burrell, or 5 star 2025 commits such as #1 overall ranked QB Bryce Underwood & #1 overall rated CB prospect DJ Pickett, Brian Kelly is building a program based around highly athletic mentality monsters who aren't messing around....kids who will never be scared by the limelight or pressure of expectation.....young men who are ready for the SEC stage, and most of all, built to win sooner rather than later.
Caden Durham must be a huge breath of fresh air for Head Coach Brian Kelly, struggling through 5 tough games so far....leading an injury plagued team, also short on depth, that haven't lived up to their own individual or collective expectations, and for the most part over 5 games, still haven't reached their settling point, now facing a daunting schedule ahead throughout the next two brutal months....
Running back Kaleb Jackson is bogged down by the 30+ pound weight gains forced upon him by Kelly's staff, unable to hit the same burst we witnessed ravage opponents last fall.
With Jackson's surprising (and hopefully temporary) dip in form, alongside Frank Wilson's meager offerings at running back (just 3 scholarship backs, joined by former DB Ju'Juan Johnson), facing a nasty road test @ South Carolina in week 3, LSU needed an answer from their freshman, and Durham duly supplied game changing fireworks, putting up 98 rushing yards on the Gamecocks highly rated front during a gutty, utterly outrageous display of bravery & presence:
That day, Durham told the world "I'm ready for the biggest moments", receiving the game ball from his elated Head Coach after the crucial 36-33 road win.
But just a few weeks later, Caden just barely cashed an offensive onslaught that ranks up at the top among the greatest LSU freshman outings.
So, where does Durham's high octane night vs South Alabama rank next to the all time non-QB freshman Tiger performances???
Back in 2003, former freshman sensation Justin Vincent went for 201 rushing yards vs Georgia during LSU's victorious SEC Championship Game (then a conference title game record), later becoming MVP of the victorious National Championship Game.
Another superstar freshman back recruited & developed by Frank Wilson, the legendary Leonard Fournette, hit 225 total yards vs Florida & 264 yards from scrimmage vs Notre Dame during his 2014 debut campaign, racking up large numbers due to his mastery in the return game as well as the backfield. Fournette also piled up 211 combined rushing, receiving & return yards vs Ole Miss that same season.
We know Kevin Faulk capped his 1995 freshman year by rushing for 234 yards against Nick Saban's Michigan State defense during the Independence Bowl.
Of course, the leader at #1 is still 2020 freshman WR Kayshon Boutte's SEC single game record of 308 receiving yards, a dizzying, gliding virtuoso clinic of pure pace, finesse, doses of power, and yards after catch infinity against Ole Miss in a rainstorm.
Who are we forgetting???
Billy Cannon didn't manage this feat, neither did Charles Alexander, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, the 2024 Duncanville freshman's mark of 217 stands above all as far as single game yardage.
So, Durham at least clocked the 4th most total yards in a single game by an LSU freshman this past Saturday night.....now among the ranks of LSU's greatest offensive players.
To quote my friend Liam Gallagher, "THIS IS HISTORY!"
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2024 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
Obviously he has great physical attributes, but the truly great ones like him have vision, patience and elusiveness. He is the only back on the roster that possesses all of these qualities.