StanleySpadowski;1419379 said:
I just don't see the fascination with Leonard.
I've always said the best way to judge a player's potential is to look at what they accomplished against other players who are going to play in the NFL. Leonard's faced very few competent defenses but when he did, he was virtually non-existent. Against Miami (probably the only team he faced his entire career with multiple future NFL starters) his freshman year, he proved too small to pound and too slow to outrun anyone. He also struggled mightily against the few other teams he faced with any speed at all in BC, Pitt and WVU.
He barely averaged four yards a carry for his career despite fattening up that average against the likes of UConn and Buffalo and having Temple on the schedule while playing halfback for three years.
I still believe he made an error in not bulking up to fit into an h-back or receiving fullback role. It may have hurt his draft status but helped his potential long term success.
Thanks to a Saturday morning golf buddy and Rutgers alum, I'm probably one of the few people who actually watched Rutgers games before this season and can say unequivocally that Leonard being replaced by Rice was the single biggest factor in their turnaround.
Actually, I think he only played HB his Freshman year. His Soph year, he was moved to FB.
Of the games last year, he really only had three poor YPC games.
Ill with 2.0 YPC but only 5 carries.
Cinn. with 1.5 but only 2 carries.
UWV with 2.0 but only 4 carries.
Look at his Freshman year. The year he played HB and I think you'll see production both running the ball and catching the ball. His freshman year, against Miami, he carried the ball 17 times for 52 yards with a 3.1 YPC average. He also had 8 catches for 54 yards, 6.8 YPC and the only TD in the game for Rutgers. Your talking about an 11-2 Miami team that year with how many NFL players on it? I think Rutgers was 5-7 that year and I doubt they had any NFL players on the roster. I think you have to consider who is was playing with as well.
I like this guy as an every down player.