By John Oehser - Colts.com
Leonard of Rutgers Projected as Top Available Fullback
INDIANAPOLIS - These days, Brian Leonard figures he can't control the future.
Whatever happens in the coming weeks, happens.
He can't control the opinions or assessments of others, and certainly can't control where he is on teams' draft boards.
Or even his position there.
Leonard, who played collegiately at Rutgers University, is projected to be selected somewhere in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, which will be held April 28-29 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
But just what he will play after that is less clear.
Some NFL teams project Leonard him as a running back, a feature back perhaps capable of being a primary option on first, second and third downs. Others project him as a fullback, primarily a blocker.
Leonard played the second role this past season.
Just where he will play next season he doesn't yet know, but he does know where he believes he's best-suited.
"If a team needs me to be a straight-ahead blocking fullback, then that's what I'll do," Leonard said recently. "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."
That's what Leonard did this past season, and he did it playing what for him was an unfamiliar role.
Leonard, after three seasons as Rutgers' primary running back, began the season being promoted as a Heisman Trophy candidate, having rushed for 2,252 yards and 27 touchdowns during his first three collegiate seasons.
Instead, he opted to play fullback as a senior. He played near 240 pounds, and blocked for Ray Rice, who rushed for 1,794 yards and 20 touchdowns as the Scarlet Knights surprised many around the nation with an 11-2 record.
Leonard, in a reduced running role, rushed for 423 yards and five touchdowns on 93 carries, and also caught 38 passes for 294 yards.
"It made it a lot easier for me because Ray Rice is not just a heck of a running back, he's
also a heck of a guy," Leonard said. "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 was Leonard's versatility that helped him become one of the nation's most productive all-around backs in his first three seasons at Rutgers.
During those three seasons, he caught 169 passes for 1,574 yards and 13 touchdowns.
"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," Leonard said. "But again, if the team wants me to be a straight-ahead blocking fullback, I'll do it to the best of my ability.
"I'll go anywhere and do anything they want me to do. I think I'm very versatile.
I really don't think there are any limits on my game."
Getting fewer carries this past season may have prepared Leonard for the NFL. Many teams
in the NFL are currently using multiple backs, as the Colts did en route to winning Super Bowl XLI this past season with veteran Dominic Rhodes and rookie Joseph Addai sharing the role much of the season. Also, Leonard said the two-back system helped reduce the physical toll he received his first three seasons.
And while Leonard said he admires Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott, he said, "I'm more versatile."
"I think I'm the kind of player that can stay on the field from first to fourth down," Leonard said. "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 thought that was the case a year ago, too - thought it seriously enough to consider applying for the NFL Draft. Although he likely would have been a first-day selection at the time, he opted to return for a final season, one that became one of the most successful in Rutgers history, one in which the Scarlet Knights emerged as a national power.
And while Leonard didn't play the same role in that season as he previously had, doing so was his choice, a choice he said he very much does not regret.
"I was coming off three straight good years, so I definitely thought about it," Leonard said. "I sent for some information from the NFL and they told me I'd be a first-day draft pick.
I talked 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."
Breaking Down the Top Fullbacks
As often is the case in the NFL Draft, fullbacks aren't expected to be an often-drafted commodity, particularly early. Some teams have reduced the emphasis on the position in recent seasons. The Colts, for example, haven't carried a true, "blocking" fullback since Jim Finn from 2000-2002. This season, Brian Leonard of Rutgers is projected as a second-round selection, but he also is considered a running back by many teams, having played as a feature back during his first three college seasons. The rest of the fullback class is expected to feature mostly fifth-through-seventh round selections, with Cory Anderson of Tennessee and Jason Snelling of Virginia considered by many the top pure fullbacks available.
