He stands at the corner of Bertrand Drive and Reinhardt Drive, putting up one practice throw after another, one day after another.

A friend shouts from a vehicle at the stoplight as he steps into the ring. Horns beep. SUVs and pickups whiz past.

But they all better be careful, because Albert Fournette III can put a shot — read: a heavy, metal ball — onto the hood of a car from 60 feet away.

Easily.

And that would make quite a dent. Fournette, in other words, can throw with the best of ’em.

The Ragin’ Cajun junior from Brother Martin High in New Orleans has the ninth-best shot put toss in the nation this season at 63 feet, 7.5 inches, and he’s favored to win the event Saturday, second day of the three-day, UL-hosted Sun Belt Conference track-and-field championships that gets under way this morning with decathlon and heptathlon events.

"He really is becoming one of the hot throwers in the nation," Cajuns coach Lon Badeaux said.

Fournette enjoyed a streak with throws of more than 60 feet in six straight indoor/outdoor meets earlier this season — usually finishing several feet beyond his next-closest competitor.

For perspective’s sake, the next-farthest Sun Belt throw this outdoor season is only 60-5.75 by Arkansas State’s Richard Chavez, and only one other, South Alabama’s Demetre Baker (58-1.75), has a throw beyond 56-6.

Fournette’s toss of 63-7.5 at the Texas Relays set a new school outdoor record, shattered his previous personal outdoor best of 59-3.5 eclipsed his 63-5 from the 2012 indoor season and earned him Sun Belt Field Athlete of the Week honors in early April.

Moreover, it ranks as the 23rd best throw in the nation this season — among both collegians and pros — and puts Fournette within reach of a possible invite to this June’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Before he can start thinking about that, though, there is unfinished business — finally winning a Sun Belt title, getting back to the NCAA championships this year and reaching a personal goal of 65-plus-feet.

"That’s what I’m looking to hit," he said.

Fournette, who also has thrown the discus and hammer, finished second in the shot put at the last two Sun Belt outdoor meets, initially as a freshman to current teammate Myles Melancon, and last season as a sophomore to then-Cajun-senior Jacob Domingue.

It hurts less that he lost to a fellow UL athlete each time, but Fournette does want to keep the ball rolling this season.

"They take a sense of pride (in that) "» like, ‘I’m not gonna be the one to let them down," Badeaux said. Then there is the matter of last year’s national meet.

Fournette went, but he didn’t register a mark, instead struggling with spin and footwork-related technical issues.

"But I’ve been working that out," he said, "and I’ve been doing a lot better."

Getting back, and posting a mark there, really is important to him.

Step 1 in that mission came at this season’s indoor NCAA nationals, where he earned second-team All-American honors after finishing 12th with a throw of 61-11„4.

"I think that’s big for Albert," Badeaux said. "He slayed some of those dragons indoor by making the indoor nationals and actually getting a mark there.

"And I think it’s just going to get better for him," the Cajuns coach added. "He’s just getting better and better."

Fournette — who keeps an eye on throws that competitors put up, but focuses most on his own tosses — is driven by teammates. He’s driven by coaches, who constantly toil to get Fournette to believe more in himself. He’s driven by the desire for constant improvement.

But what is driving him perhaps most these days is the simple need to get back to outdoor NCAA nationals, which this year will be held June 6-9 in Des Moines, Iowa.

He’ll have to qualify out of the May 24-26 East Regionals in Jacksonville to get there.

"That (last year) was my first taste of (nationals)," Fournette said. "I have to go back every time now. If I don’t go back, I’d be very disappointed in myself.

"I think about it every time I go to a meet."

Probably thinks about every time he steps into the ring off Reinhardt, too. Not that horn-blowers or name-shouters would necessarily know.

"It doesn’t really bother us. We just go out and throw," Fournette said of the traffic that flies by his open-to-public-view practice field. "Once I get in the ring, I’m so focused nothing can bother me."

Not even a buddy yelling, "Hey, Albert."