BATON ROUGE – “The first time he ever touched the ball in a game as a freshman was on a punt return that he took back for a touchdown,” Catholic High School Head Football Coach Gabe Fertitta said.

“I remember a coach saying ‘what is he doing?’ I said ‘he’s scoring!'” former Bears running back coach Eric Held said.

That is the first touch current LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had with a football once he arrived at Catholic High. When LSU’s offense is brought up, the wide receivers are often the center of attention, but the Tigers still have a running game thanks to the former Bear. His coaches knew he could go to the collegiate level the second he touched the football.

“That was the moment you knew he was a next level player,” said Held.

Edwards-Helaire also seemed to know when to play at his best. Against Auburn, the Catholic alum racked up his season high 136 rushing yardsd, and Fertitta was in attendance for that performance.

“Being able to cheer for him from the stands, not as his coach but just as a fan, it was really great watching him do what he does,” Fertitta said.

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