Originally Posted by
JasonEvans
Riley Leonard also had multiple scholarship offers to play basketball, not from high major programs but from some solid mid-majors. Kid is a heck of an athlete and will be a tremendous asset for the football program.
Originally Posted by
brlftz
A few interesting parallels with DJ - great size and athleticism, excellent hoopster, but flew under the radar due to some unusual circumstances (DJ missed junior year due to injury I think, RL missed spring practice and summer camps due to Covid), ended up catching Cut's attention via a personal connection. Obviously not expecting him to be a top 10 pick in a few years, but football seems to offer more chances to find hidden gems if you're on your toes.
From A. Rowe and 247Sports/Devils Den:
"Duke was the school that for the rest of my life I could walk around with pride knowing I went there," Leonard told TheDevilsDen.com before announcing his decision. "My QB coach out of Mobile, David Morris, was coached by Coach Cut at Ole Miss with Eli Manning. Him and coach talked about me and ever since the first conversation with Cut, there was a click".
Ding-ding-ding!
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013