DenverBroncos.Com article on Brian Leonard.
"By J. Michael Moore
DenverBroncos.com
The only thing more consistent than running back Brian Leonard plowing through defenses are the stale, yet accurate, cliches analysts use to describe his game.
Hard-nosed.
Old school.
Rugged.
Leonard hears them all and goes about his business -- one punishing hit at a time.
At 6-foot-2 and 226 pounds, the former Rutgers star looks like a fullback. He has more experience, however, as a tailback. He has the 2,779 collegiate rushing yards and 32 touchdowns to prove it. He also has the most carries (678) in school history, despite giving up the bulk of the work to Ray Rice last year.
Such a shift would lead some players to complain. Not Leonard, who adapted his focus and game for the NFL.
He may have only picked up 427 rushing yards and caught 38 passes as a senior, but he made sure to play a key role on the team.
"Ray Rice is not just a heck of a running back, he's also a heck of a guy," Leonard said at the Scouting Combine. "Yes, I was the star running back for three years, but I embraced my role as the fullback. Making a block for Ray felt just as good as scoring an 80-yard touchdown."
It all worked out for the Scarlet Knights who finished 10-2, were in the hunt for the Big East title until the final week of the regular season and defeated Kansas State by 27 points in only the school's second bowl appearance since 1978.
Leonard bulked up to 238 pounds during the season, but trimmed down for the Senior Bowl and combine. He took reps at tailback and fullback during Senior Bowl week, showing a unique blend of finesse and power. That was clear thanks to the heavy sweat and blood stains that dotted his uniform even after practices.
He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds at the combine and benched 225 pounds 28 times, rounding out his diverse skill-set.
"If a team needs me to be a straight-ahead blocking fullback, then that's what I'll do," he said. "I don't feel that using me that way would be getting the best out of me but, if the team wants me to do that, I'll do it. I'm all about helping a team win. All I care about is helping a team win and I'll do whatever it takes to help them.
"I think I'm at my best when I get out in the flat, get the ball in my hands and make some people miss. But again, if the team wants me to be a straight-ahead blocking fullback, I'll do it to the best of my ability."
NFLDraftScout.com has Leonard slotted as the draft's third-best running back and predicts he'll be drafted sometime in the second round. Ironically, his draft stock could have improved from staying at school an extra year and splitting time with another running back.
He's been compared to Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott, who has been one of the more offensively involved fullbacks in the league during his 12-year career. He was a second-round pick out of Purdue in 1996.
Leonard acknowledges the comparison, but made no attempt to hide his desire to take the position to the next level.
"I like Mike Alstott a lot, but I'm more versatile," Leonard said. "I think I'm the kind of player that can stay on the field from first to fourth down. I can run the ball, catch it, block and pass block. Whatever they need me to do. I think I'm able to handle a full workload."
Leonard was a first-team All-American last season and a second-team All-Big East performer. He was also a co-captain on the Rutgers roster and was the teams Most Valuable Offensive Player.
If that wasn't enough, he was also named National Scholar Athlete of the Year by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.
There's a personable element to the hard-nosed Leonard, shown by his decision to stay in school after his junior season and not enter the NFL Draft, despite an impending shift to a support role in the Rutgers offense.
"I was coming off three straight good years, so I definitely thought about (turning pro)," he said. "I sent for some information from the NFL and they told me I'd be a first-day draft pick. I talked it over with my family and others and they all told me to follow my heart.
"I stayed and I have no regrets. I didn't carry the ball as much this year, but I don't think it hurt my draft status at all."
That seems to be the case as the days inch closer to the 2007 NFL Draft and every Brian Leonard cliche comes out of the woodwork."
