Brian Leonard
Leonard with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | February 3, 1984 | ||||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Gouverneur, New York | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| College: | Rutgers | ||||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2007 / Round: 2 / Pick: 52 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Rushing yards: | 828 |
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| Rushing average: | 3.7 |
| Rushing touchdowns: | 0 |
| Receptions: | 142 |
| Receiving yards: | 1,008 |
| Receiving touchdowns: | 1 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Brian Leonard (born February 3, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rutgers.
Leonard also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Leonard committed to play football at Rutgers University in August 2001. As a high school senior he was a 3-star (out of 5) recruit, according to Rivals.com, and had scholarship offers from several prominent schools including Penn State University and Syracuse University. In track & field, Leonard competed in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the long jump. He posted impressive wins in both the 100 and 200 at the Section VII/X Track and Field Championships. Leonard was a four-time honor roll student. In high school, he was projected to play linebacker at the next level. Leonard largely credits his brother, Nate Leonard, for why he chose Rutgers. Nate was also recruited to play football in college before injuring his knee. Unlike other Big East and ACC teams who stopped recruiting him as a collegiate football player due to his injury, Rutgers then-coach Terry Shea honored his scholarship offer to the elder Leonard brother, and Nate Leonard came to Rutgers to play football. Brian valued Rutgers's loyalty to his brother and ultimately decided to play football at Rutgers.
Beginning in his sophomore campaign, Leonard became known nationally for hurdling over would-be tacklers. During the opening game of the 2005 campaign in Urbana-Champaign against Illinois, he brought himself to the attention of sportscasters and pundits in the third quarter, taking a pitch from quarterback Ryan Hart on a 2nd down and 4 play from Rutgers's 17 yard line. Running left, Leonard hurdled over the top of a waiting linebacker at the 24 yard line and ran 83 yards for a touchdown in an ultimately losing effort against the Illini. The play was named the top college football highlight of that season's opening weekend by ESPN. In 2006, he was promoted as a Heisman Trophy candidate. A video clip of Leonard, concluding with the slogan "Leonard for Heisman," was aired on the NBC Astrovision screen in New York City’s Times Square. Despite being acknowledged as a Heisman candidate, Leonard elected to take on a diminished role as a blocker and allow Ray Rice to become a star. He was also named starting fullback on the 2007 Senior Bowl North Squad, where he finished with 16 yards rushing and 13 yards receiving, 3rd overall on the team in total yardage.
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