Two of LSU’s best football players during this century, running back Leonard Fournette and cornerback Patrick Peterson, highlight the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2027. Chairman Doug Ireland says Fournette earned All-American honors as a sophomore at LSU rushing for nearly 2,000 yards, a school record.
“The No. 1 recruit in the nation coming out of St. Aug in New Orleans and set records at LSU and turned heads; we had never seen a running back with that type of power and speed since Billy Cannon,” Ireland recalled.
Fournette also broke the school single-record for most games in a game when he had 284 yards on 16 carries in a 38-21 win over Ole Miss. Fournette went on to play seven seasons in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay.
Ireland says in 2010, Peterson won the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defender and the Thorpe Award as the top defensive back, becoming the first LSU player to win those two prestigious awards. Ireland says after LSU, Peterson played 13 seasons in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons.
“Certainly, he was one of the great, great, great Tigers of all-time and became, certainly I think, a no-doubter for Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Ireland said.
The 2027 class also features former LSU baseball stars Ryan Theriot and Aaron Hill. Ireland says one of the state’s most successful high school football coach, Hank Tierney, is also a member of the 2027 class.
“The fabulous New Orleans-area high school football coach, he’s going to be, very shortly, fifth all-time in Louisiana career wins; started the season with 340, still going at age 75 at Archbishop Shaw,” Ireland noted.
Tierney has won two state titles at Shaw.
The 2027 class also includes two-time Triple-Crown winning jockey Robby Albarado, former Northwestern State baseball coach Jim Wells, former ULM women’s basketball star Lisa Ingram and former LSU defensive tackle standout Henry Thomas, who helped LSU win an SEC title in 1988 and then played 14 seasons in the NFL.