Devin White and Leonard Fournette shared a long embrace once the clock struck zero and the confetti started to fall. Both are among the elite talents to have ever graced the campus at LSU and did so with class along the way.
But neither enjoyed the success of representing the state of Louisiana in a college national championship game or as high school athletes either. They were also both top five picks in their respective NFL drafts and when Fournette was later cut by his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was his former LSU teammate White who lobbied hard to bring him aboard.
Winning a national championship was a goal both wished they'd accomplished at school but on Sunday evening represented the state in the best way possible with a Super Bowl victory. The duo were tremendous on the field and earned the respect of many in the social media world.
"It means the world to me," White said after the game. "But I've been greedy all my life. I want another one."
White said even as the score became insurmountable for the Chiefs to overcome, they didn't want to let their foots off the gas. He and the Bucs defensive stars knew what kind of offense Kansas City had but the goal was to be relentless in their defensive coverage.
For White that meant leading the team in tackles and even snagging an interception in the endzone to ensure the Chiefs would not score a touchdown in the game.
"We didn't want them to score. Everybody said they were the best offense in the world and we just didn't want to let them score," White said.
"This is my first time since Little League playing in a championship of any kind," White said. "I worked so hard, it's all I ever dreamed of, always got a lot of individual awards but that's not what I play for. I play to be the best in the world and I was just so thankful to be able to take the field tonight."
LSU coach Ed Orgeron believes the former Butkus award winner with the Tigers has the chance to go down as a Hall of Fame type talent.
"I felt like a proud poppa," Orgeron said while watching the Super Bowl. "That's our program, we develop champions. This is a player driven program and win championships here and go on to the NFL and have great careers. I was cheering for the Tigers, all of our guys and I'm proud of them."
For Fournette, he wasn't always the focal point during the regular season but stepped up in a major way in the four playoff games, honing the nickname 'Playoff Lenny' throughout the run as his performances became more and more impressive. This last year was difficult for the former No. 1 overall recruit and No. 4 NFL pick as he'd never faced adversity like 2020 in his football career.
"It's a great story that I can tell my kids about keeping faith, staying focused but it was a tough year for me," Fournette said. "As a competitor you wanna compete and there were some games I didn't get to help anyone. But 'Playoff Lenny' came alive and I'm just thankful."
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