In the ever-evolving and always turbulent world of sports, at least one thing has remained constant: Sports fans are always willing to pull for the underdog. Every adult whose sports dreams ended when they realized that they were too slow or too small to reach athletic glory can relate to the players or teams that ignore that advice and go on to succeed. Every child that is being told right now that they are too slow or too small to achieve their dreams can look to underdogs as practical stories of achievement.
Meet Jim Leonhard, who at 5-foot-8, 178 pounds, was considered too small to become the starting safety at a major college program. The thing is, that is exactly what he’s done. After making the team and earning a varsity letter as a freshman walk-on last season, Leonhard has taken the Badger football world by storm this year. Despite the questions he had to continually ask himself while trying to make the team, he has managed to get a firm grip on the starting strong-safety position.
“Coming in, there were a lot of questions from people and myself, like ‘Can I really play here; should I be here?'” Leonhard said.
The help of coaches and older teammates eased his transition, however. Another helpful fact was that the coaches did not dole out any preferential treatment to coveted scholarship players as opposed to walk-ons, according to Leonhard.
“Coming in, it was just a great experience with the coaches,” he said. “The older guys took you in really well and kind of showed you how things work around here.”
While he did acknowledge that it was imperative to work doubly hard in an effort to prove himself as a walk-on, Leonhard does not necessarily prefer to view himself as an underdog.
“Everyone talks about the size; everyone talks about the height,” said Leonhard. “[I see myself as an underdog] to a point, but it is not something I really dwell on.”
Leonhard attended Flambeau High School in Tony, Wisconsin. Undoubtedly, the people back home are proud, but when he decided to attend the University of Wisconsin, they had mixed feelings about whether he would, or even could, succeed on a Big Ten football team.
“There’s lots of people that thought I could [succeed in football] and there are some people that weren’t sure,” said Leonhard. “[It’s at the point] where they’re kind of shocked at the way things went,” Leonhard said.
Although playing high school football in a small town such as Tony may have limited Leonhard’s exposure to major college football scouts, it did help him prepare for the rigors of being viewed as almost a football celebrity, especially in a program such as Wisconsin.
“Coming from a smaller town, everyone kind of knows you anyway,” he said. “With Eau Claire (the nearest big town to Tony), that’s kind of the Madison media market up there, so there’s lots of people that knew me up there. Coming from a small town, that almost helped me.”
In 2002, Big Ten receivers are already starting to get to know Leonhard, even before the start of conference play. Like Mike Brown of the Chicago Bears, Leonhard always seems to be around the ball. Consider these stats: he’s tied for third nationally and leads the Big Ten with three interceptions, he has a Big Ten-leading 12 pass break-ups, and he’s second on the Badgers with 20 tackles. After their lackluster defensive performance the past two years, the Badgers are certainly looking for a defensive playmaker.
“I think there’s a little bit of luck involved, but most of it is just knowing your responsibilities,” Leonhard says of always being near the ball. “You don’t have to be the fastest guy. If you know what you’re supposed to do, you’ll be around the ball a lot more, and I credit that.”
But don’t be fooled by Leonhard’s apparent lack of size or athleticism. During spring practices, he surprised everyone not only on the football field, but on the basketball court as well, by taking home the team’s slam-dunk crown. With that leaping ability, Leonhard may have a future in basketball. Or at least in SlamBall.
“I’ve just always been able to jump. That’s been my secret,” he said. “I definitely came into [the slam-dunk contest] as the underdog, so I shocked some people.”
Shocking people and making believers out of them seems to be Jim Leonhard’s strong suit. The script goes like this: small town kid, too small to make it, excels as a starter in a major college football program. Almost makes me want to try out.
