Jim Leonhard

KR, FS · Wisconsin
Positives...Short, but has a good body structure with solid chest and arm muscle tone, some thickness in his thighs and calves and a frame that can carry some additional bulk... Durable athlete who never missed a game due to injuries, playing at the end of 2002 with a fractured right thumb and throughout the second half of 2004 with a stress fracture in his left foot...Plays with decent quickness and good agility...Smart and active tackler who anticipates, reads and reacts well to the play...Shows a quick turn coming out of his backpedal...Very effective zone defender who makes a sharp break on the ball and does a good job of reading the receiver's moves...Has the hand/eye coordination to track the ball in flight and above average leaping ability...Gets a good jump on the ball and makes proper body adjustments working in space...Natural hands catcher who shows patience waiting for blocks to develop as a returner...Stays low in his pads and drives hard with his legs when making the tackle...Shows a good feel to string plays out and gives solid effort in run support...Plays faster than his timed speed...One intangible you can not measure is his heart, but it is a big one...Everyone on the staff and squad loves this kid and he has been a good mentor for the younger players. Negatives...Can add some more weight to his frame, but it is approaching maximum growth potential...Lacks the top-end speed to be effective in man coverage, as he is mismatches vs. the speedy receivers on deep routes...Has limited range and catch-up speed...Aggressive hitter, but a lack of size will see bigger backs break his arm tackles.