Brett Leonard viewed the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl with a slightly
different perspective than his fellow offensive linemen during
their Dec. 24 game against Tulsa. For Leonard, a junior and 2006
graduate of San Benito High, it was his very first start of the
season, and it came on the biggest stage for the University of
Hawaii. But for his teammates, all seniors on the offensive line,
it was not only their final game of the season, but their last
while adorning a Warriors jersey.
HOLLISTER
Brett Leonard viewed the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl with a slightly different perspective than his fellow offensive linemen during their Dec. 24 game against Tulsa.
For Leonard, a junior and 2006 graduate of San Benito High, it was his very first start of the season, and it came on the biggest stage for the University of Hawaii.
But for his teammates, all seniors on the offensive line, it was not only their final game of the season, but their last while adorning a Warriors jersey.
“I was the only junior on the offensive line — all seniors. My first game starting was their last game playing,” said Leonard, who lined up at left guard for the Warriors that day, 13 games after he was primed to start the season for Hawaii as the team’s No. 1 center.
The Dec. 24 game against Tulsa didn’t end the way Leonard or the Warriors wanted it to, of course — a 62-35 defeat that included six first-half turnovers for Hawaii. But playing in a bowl game, and being healthy enough to start, provided at least a silver lining for Leonard, who suffered a knee injury in August before the regular season even started.
“It was my first [start] in 13 games,” Leonard said.
Leonard was slotted all along to be a starter in 2010, whether it be at left guard, where he was listed No. 1 on the depth chart during the offseason; or at center, where he was eventually expected to open the regular season.
But during one-on-one drills in an August practice, one week prior to the season opener against USC, Leonard’s left knee “locked up” and completely changed the complexion of his 2010 season.
He fell to the ground and was unable to stand.
Although online reports were calling it a sprain, and that Leonard would be ready for the opener against the Trojans the following week, the 6-foot-5, 310-pound lineman instead had surgery the following day to repair two torn menisci, and was sidelined through the first four games of the season as a result.
“The day I got hurt was the day they were gonna announce I’d be starting center,” Leonard recalled.
He later added, “It was hard. You definitely love the game of football, but you hate watching it from the sidelines on crutches.
“It could have been worse. It could have been my senior year.”
The season didn’t improve all that much for Leonard, though, not until the Hawaii Bowl, at least.
A transfer from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Leonard returned to the gridiron on Oct. 2 in a home game against Louisiana Tech and split time at left guard. He was then off the following week when Hawaii traveled to Fresno State, but he did see the majority of snaps in a home game against Nevada on Oct. 16.
But in a game at Utah State on Oct. 23, Leonard suffered a bone bruise — a “freak accident.” He didn’t return to the field until the final game of the season against Tulsa.
He got the start after one player was ruled academically ineligible.
“And I finally got my knee back where it needed to be,” he said.
The up-and-down season was difficult to endure for Leonard, though, who was ready to showcase his ability on the offensive line in the two years he had at Hawaii. But although his first season with the Warriors didn’t go to plan, the Hollister resident is poised to make his senior campaign a strong one.
“I’ll work as hard as I always have since high school. That’s always worked for me,” he said.
Leonard’s just about finished with the rehab of his knee, and doesn’t feel it will at all be an issue by the time spring practice rolls around. Just last week, in fact, he was told by the coaching staff to be ready for action in the fall, at either the center or guard positions.
The lone non-senior to start on the offensive line at the Hawaii Bowl, Leonard is poised to take control of a starting position once again next season.
“It was the same idea that I had (coming to Hawaii). I had 26 games under my belt to make things happen, to get to the next level. Now it’s down to 13,” he said. “It’s up to you to do what you can do.”
