11-07-2006, 03:10 PM
Decision to stay pays off for Leonard, No. 15 Rutgers
By DAVID PORTER, Associated Press Writer
November 6, 2006
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- Greg Schiano may have done his best recruiting job on Brian Leonard three years after the strapping fullback arrived at Rutgers.
It began on the plane ride home from Arizona after last December's 45-40 loss in the Insight Bowl, Rutgers' first bowl appearance since 1978. It concluded with Leonard opting to pass up the NFL draft in April and return for one more year.
Despite his taking on a supporting role in the offense behind sophomore running back Ray Rice, Leonard is a big reason No. 15 Rutgers is 8-0 heading into Thursday night's home game against No. 3 Louisville.
"It was just like being recruited all over again," Leonard recalled Monday. "I took about three weeks, talked to my parents, talked to ex-NFL players, scouts and guys that had a chance to leave early. Everyone said to go with my heart, and my heart was with Rutgers."
Schiano and Leonard are two of what is surely only a handful of people who could have envisioned anything close to the hysteria that has engulfed the Rutgers campus leading up to Thursday's game.
Tickets are so scarce for the game that the school added temporary bleachers in one end zone and students planned to camp out, a practice as foreign to central New Jersey as snow in July.
It is eons removed from the scenario Leonard found when he arrived in the fall of 2002. As he watched and learned, Rutgers went 1-11 and ran its Big East losing streak to 22 games.
In those days, every step forward was accompanied by a step back. Leonard recalled Rutgers' 19-14 upset of Michigan State to open the 2004 season, followed by a 35-24 defeat to Division I-AA New Hampshire the next week.
"I remember going back to my house on campus and guys were yelling at me from the bars," he said. "I came out the next morning and there were beer cans on my car and a big dent in my hood."
The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Leonard developed a reputation as a double threat on the 2003 and 2004 teams that combined to go 9-14 and finally break the team's Big East losing streak. With the emergence last season of Rice as the team's chief running threat, Leonard has been used primarily as a receiver out of the backfield and this season broke the school record for receptions with 195. He also is the school's all-time leader in touchdowns with 42.
His size and speed, he ran a 4.47 second 40 in high school, endeared him to NFL scouts, as did his highlight tape that features the hurdle move over defenders that has become his calling card.
Even though he was told he would likely be drafted in the early rounds, it wasn't enough to change his mind about returning to Rutgers.
"The reason I came back was I believed this team could do this," he said. "We had the leadership and the confidence from last year's bowl game to be able to do what we're doing now. That's why I'm here today. If I wasn't here I would be regretting it. I made the right decision."
Schiano would hardly disagree.
"There are a lot of kids that'll be out there Thursday night that deserve to be out there in that atmosphere, but none more than him," he said. "I know he really passed up more than what people think he passed up to come back. He still chose to come back, and that means a lot to me personally, and that was just another stamp of validity for our program."
This article appeared on the Yahoo Sports website on Monday, November 6, 2006.
By DAVID PORTER, Associated Press Writer
November 6, 2006
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) -- Greg Schiano may have done his best recruiting job on Brian Leonard three years after the strapping fullback arrived at Rutgers.
It began on the plane ride home from Arizona after last December's 45-40 loss in the Insight Bowl, Rutgers' first bowl appearance since 1978. It concluded with Leonard opting to pass up the NFL draft in April and return for one more year.
Despite his taking on a supporting role in the offense behind sophomore running back Ray Rice, Leonard is a big reason No. 15 Rutgers is 8-0 heading into Thursday night's home game against No. 3 Louisville.
"It was just like being recruited all over again," Leonard recalled Monday. "I took about three weeks, talked to my parents, talked to ex-NFL players, scouts and guys that had a chance to leave early. Everyone said to go with my heart, and my heart was with Rutgers."
Schiano and Leonard are two of what is surely only a handful of people who could have envisioned anything close to the hysteria that has engulfed the Rutgers campus leading up to Thursday's game.
Tickets are so scarce for the game that the school added temporary bleachers in one end zone and students planned to camp out, a practice as foreign to central New Jersey as snow in July.
It is eons removed from the scenario Leonard found when he arrived in the fall of 2002. As he watched and learned, Rutgers went 1-11 and ran its Big East losing streak to 22 games.
In those days, every step forward was accompanied by a step back. Leonard recalled Rutgers' 19-14 upset of Michigan State to open the 2004 season, followed by a 35-24 defeat to Division I-AA New Hampshire the next week.
"I remember going back to my house on campus and guys were yelling at me from the bars," he said. "I came out the next morning and there were beer cans on my car and a big dent in my hood."
The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Leonard developed a reputation as a double threat on the 2003 and 2004 teams that combined to go 9-14 and finally break the team's Big East losing streak. With the emergence last season of Rice as the team's chief running threat, Leonard has been used primarily as a receiver out of the backfield and this season broke the school record for receptions with 195. He also is the school's all-time leader in touchdowns with 42.
His size and speed, he ran a 4.47 second 40 in high school, endeared him to NFL scouts, as did his highlight tape that features the hurdle move over defenders that has become his calling card.
Even though he was told he would likely be drafted in the early rounds, it wasn't enough to change his mind about returning to Rutgers.
"The reason I came back was I believed this team could do this," he said. "We had the leadership and the confidence from last year's bowl game to be able to do what we're doing now. That's why I'm here today. If I wasn't here I would be regretting it. I made the right decision."
Schiano would hardly disagree.
"There are a lot of kids that'll be out there Thursday night that deserve to be out there in that atmosphere, but none more than him," he said. "I know he really passed up more than what people think he passed up to come back. He still chose to come back, and that means a lot to me personally, and that was just another stamp of validity for our program."
This article appeared on the Yahoo Sports website on Monday, November 6, 2006.