Is LSU’s Guice the new star of SEC?

Kevin Sumlin can’t forget the first time Derrius Guice popped up on his radar, though the Texas A&M coach would surely like to.

It was during the secondhalf kickoff of the Aggies’ game at LSU in 2015. Guice, then just a freshman buried behind Leonard Fournette on the depth chart, returned the third-quarter kick 75 yards to the Texas A&M 25-yard line.

“I said, ‘Who in the hell is that?’” Sumlin recalled at SEC Media Days. “They said, ‘Derrius Guice.’”

That was only the start of Guice’s introduction.

Midway through that same quarter, Guice sliced through the A&M defense for a 50-yard touchdown to give LSU a lead it did not relinquish. Guice was even harsher on the Aggies last year, setting an LSU singlegame record with 285 yards and four touchdowns at Kyle Field on Thanksgiving night.

“I was looking for Leonard Fournette,” Sumlin said. “You know it’s bad when you’re looking for Fournette.”

Fournette’s gone now but inheriting his place, both as LSU’s running back and the face of the SEC, is Guice.

Many years, Media Days leave no question as to which player is the face of the league.

In 2008 and ’09, it was Tim Tebow. In 2013, Johnny Manziel took the spotlight. Last year, it was shared by Fournette and Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, a pair of top-five NFL draft picks.

With no returning standout to serve as the league’s clearcut star, 2017 feels like Guice’s year. SEC Network anchor Peter Burns is all-in on Guice, saying he will become “a national superstar, a once-in-a-decade type of personality.”

With Fournette in the NFL, Guice enters his junior season in a far more prominent position than he did a year ago. But he doesn’t feel any different.

“I don’t feel like it changes anything,” Guice said. “I’m the same Derrius as I was last year. Leonard’s just a step higher now. I wish to be next.”

Guice has not dealt with Heisman hype before. Last year’s enormous output — 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns as a part-time starter — came without the expectation. He’ll be scrutinized this year.

But Guice believes last season’s emergence prepared him for the spotlight. After all, he’s already in it.

“It’s not different because I kind of emerged as a starter last year and I did so well with the help of Leonard and [RB] Darrel [Williams] in preparing for this year,” he said. “Because it started happening sooner than we thought. I had to step up and make sure I know everything that’s going on and be ready.”

As competitive as Guice is — you can frequently find him on Twitter challenging teammates or even players on other teams to a game of “Madden” that he promises he will win — it’s somewhat surprising that he will not compare himself to other running backs.

“I feel like I run differently from anybody. Me watching them is pointless,” he said. “I learn stuff by going out on my own and doing it. That’s how I pick up and add things to my game. I’ve done that since I was 6 and first playing ball.”