Brian Leonard is the younger brother of Nate Leonard who played for Rutgers before a knee injury as a senior ended his playing career. Brian attended Gouverneur High School in Gouverneur, New York where he was a three-sport athlete as a member of the football, basketball, and track teams. He was an all-state performer on the school’s basketball team. Brian played both running back and linebacker on the football team. As a senior he rushed for 2,398 yards and scored 47 touchdowns on 234 attempts. He also caught 23 passes for 529 yards. On defense he recorded 64 tackles, 1 sack and 2 interceptions on the season, helping his team to a 9-1 record. He finished his career with 5,854 rushing yards and 107 touchdowns. He was a three-time conference MVP and a two-time all-state performer. His 696 points scored was a New York state record. Brian was considered to be one of the top prospects in the state. He was recruited by schools such as Notre Dame, Penn State, and Syracuse, but he surprisingly opted to sign with Rutgers where he sat out the 2002 season as a redshirt. He led the team in rushing the following season with a career high 880 yards on 213 attempts. He scored 9 rushing touchdowns and added 488 yards and 5 receiving touchdowns on 53 receptions. As a sophomore, Brian rushed for 732 yards and 7 touchdowns on 199 attempts. He had 518 receiving yards and 2 more touchdowns on a big east leading 61 receptions. As a junior, Brian led Rutgers to its first bowl game in 27 years, rushing for 740 yards and a career high 11 touchdowns on 173 attempts. He caught 55 passes and set career highs in receiving yards (568) and receiving touchdowns (6). Brian could’ve entered the 2006 NFL draft as the top fullback available, but he opted to return to Rutgers for his senior season.

Brian Leonard has a great deal of experience, having started for Rutgers for the past four seasons. He is an intelligent player and a hard worker, both in the classroom and on the playing field. He is a very good between the tackles runner who hits the hole hard and has the strength to run through arm tackles. He has soft hands and is an excellent receiver out of the backfield who led the big east in receptions in 2004. Brian isn’t very elusive in the open field and he lacks great breakaway speed. He will have problems turning the corner at the next level due to that lack of speed. Brian could’ve entered the 2006 NFL draft, but opted to return to Rutgers for his senior season. This turned out to be a good move because he developed into a true leader as a senior. He is a very good lead blocker and he got a lot of experience in that area as a senior. He proved to be a real team player as his number of touches dropped and his role became primarily that of a lead blocker. Brian Leonard is an extremely versatile player who has a rare combination of running, receiving, and blocking skills. He is a bit of a “tweener” having served as the featured back his first three seasons at Rutgers before becoming more of a fullback as a senior. He projects as a fullback who could takeover as the featured ball carrier in a pinch if injuries forced him into that position. He should be the top fullback selected in the 2007 NFL draft.