Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
HAMILTON — To put it mildly, Richard Leonard has a massive chip on his shoulder heading into the 2018 season.
“I’m going to approach it a little differently because I feel like I got [ripped off] on the rookie of the year,” he said during Mark’s CFL Week last month, explaining his mindset heading into his sophomore year.
“That’s a mind thing that’s going to make me go harder every day. That’s what I think about. I feel like I was supposed to win it so I just make that my motivation.”
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Leonard and the Tiger-Cats took part in mini-camp this week (Ticats.ca)
Despite Leonard having a stellar first season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, it was Toronto Argonauts tailback James Wilder Jr. who won the CFL’s annual Most Outstanding Rookie honour.
Leonard finished the year second on the Tiger-Cats in total tackles with 73 and second in the league in interceptions with seven. He also tied for the most fumble returns (three) including one for a score and was tied for first in pass knockdowns (13).
“I’m going to always root for him,” his teammate Larry Dean said during the off-season’s biggest event in Winnipeg. “I want everybody to win everything but I know that’s not possible. At the end of the day, we’re not the ones that make the call. But his play spoke for itself.”
“We’re both from the south. And when you’re from the south and you’re a baller, we call you a dog,” continued Dean. “And that’s what he is, a dog. He gets to the ball. Anybody that knows anything about football knows when they hear that term, it’s said with the most endearment possible.”
Coming from playing ball in the states – he suited up for five years at Florida International University before signing with the NFL’s Houston Texans in 2016 – it took him no time at all to get used to the differences in the Canadian game. The little nuances, the bigger field and having one less down all seemed to come naturally to the 26-year-old.
“It went good,” he smiled, reflecting on his first season in the black and gold. “I didn’t expect it go to like that at first. I didn’t expect it to go like that. It’s just blessing just to be up for that nomination (Most Outstanding Rookie).
“Now I have people looking for me to be even better than last year. I’m just working hard to get better every day.”
Leonard, Dean and the rest of the Tiger-Cats will have a new face in charge of the defence this season as Jerry Glanville took over the defensive coordinator role for Hamilton during the off-season (the Tabbies got their first taste of the 76-year-old this week at mini-camp).
Leonard finished the season with seven interceptions, just three behind Ed Gainey, in 2017 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
The hiring was made by Head Coach June Jones, who previously knew and worked with Glanville, and the team is trusting in the bench boss to keep the momentum of the 6-4 run they went on to finish the 2017 season going.
“We just believe in him,” said Leonard of his head coach, who helped turn the team’s 0-8 season around. “We believed in his system and that’s what you really need as a player. You need people to believe in as a coach. Nobody else talked back. We just believed in him and that just made us go far. Once the wins started piling up , everybody was like, ‘we can do something.’”
As he prepares for his second season in Tiger Town, Leonard isn’t too worried about hitting certain milestones or setting specific goals. He’s just going to hit the field and play.
“I don’t really set goals for myself,” admitted Leonard. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. But I just go day by day, game by game. I just play hard every game and I feel like results are going to come.”
But if he did set a goal?
“If somebody does want to hear my personal goals, I just say that I want to lead the whole CFL in interceptions,” he stated.
“Even break the record.”
