I'm down here in Jacksonville, and I don't get too much news on his progress. When I call him, he'd never mention whether he'd done well or not (he's always been one of those self-depricating types). Also, how is the NYC media treating him? I know as a New Yorker, we can be very harsh up there! I'd appreciate any news. Thanks.
if your a friend of his shouldnt we be asking you for info? anyways i cant wait to see him in green and white.
Thats cool... its cool knowing someone in the NFL, I am friends with Will Smith from the Saints. He came home 2 weekends ago and went DT with half the city.
Believe it or not, I was the co-host of the #1 rated sports talk radio show in North Florida (Jacksonville AM 930 The Fox). Through that, I had a chance to see Leon in his first year of high school football (which, incidentally, was his junior year). He was easily one of the top 3 best players that I have ever seen!
So then we can ask you stuff about him? And will he not even tell you how he has been doing if you ask him outright?
He'll tell me, but he is humble. I remember his freshman season at FSU when he said that his 97 yard kickoff return against Clemson on Thursday night football was "O.K.". This is the same guy who thought that running for 135 yards in his true freshman year against the University of Florida was just "A NICE THING". The point is, he is so humble and self-depricating, you're never going to get a very good, or accurate gauge on whether he is doing just good, very good or GREAT! Finally, I remember when he ran for over 320 yards in his senior year against a very good First Coast High school football team and he essentially called it "A SOLID OUTING"...... Now do you get where I'm coming from? With you all being up there, you can inform me better than he has.
I'm in Canada so I won't get to see him until the preseason, on TV. He seems sort of small, but if he is good I really don't think that will matter all that much. I hope he is a pleasant surprise and becomes a great NFL back, because we need one considering that Curtis will be gone soon.
Trey - not much talk about him so far, although I expect that to change once camp and the pre-season start going. In NY the talk is about our 3rd draft choice Kellen Clemens. Seeing as you seem to have a bit of history with Leon, do you know his take on learing from a future first ballot hall of famer? I sure hope he is trying to gain as much knowledge as he can from Curtis.
Leon thinks that it is an honor and privilege to learn from a guy like Curtis Martin. He even mentioned that he hoped that C-Mart stayed around a little longer so that he could learn as much as possible. Leon is a gracious, humble individual. If I could guarantee a player not having any trouble (as far as on or off of the field) in this day and age of sports, Leon would be the guy. I think you all will be pleasantly surprise with the way he will turn out to be a star player; even more so than Dave Meggett. Leon WILL be a fan favorite, ala Wayne Chrebet.
Do you think he is a sign every autograph before getting on the bus sort of guy? I have alot of respect for the players that still remember what its like to be a fan.
the only things I've heard on him are the initial criticisms... that he's small, and not as agile as you'd expect from an RB his size. You'd expect him to be able to wriggle and worm through things, but they say he's not that mobile in the hips and shoulders. But I'm someone who's never seen him run, so I take bored beat writer/draft expert criticisms with a grain of salt. Any RB can be great with the right system.
The only experts that I respect are the guys who do the homework (real scouts); I'm not too interested in guys who have done nothing more than watch the game when it comes down to an educated opinion. Granted, playing the game is not the only requisite, but the types who over-analyze (talk radio hosts and arm chair QB's) don't hold the same weight as those who legitimately know what they're talking about.
