Brandon Leslie, the 6-foot, 195 pound safety from Edison High School in Fresno (Calif.), has offers from Nebraska and Washington. He favors the Huskers over Notre Dame, Washington, Georgia Tech and Oregon — in that order.
“I didn’t play at all my junior season because I tore my shoulder muscle before the first game,” said Leslie. “I went to the All-American game in Texas and people were shocked I did so well. They didn’t think I’d recover so quickly. I think not playing last season maybe slowed my offers a little bit, but I’m not worried about it. I’m completely healed—better than 100 percent.
“Nebraska is number one,” he said. “They were the first to offer me my sophomore year. That means a lot. They are big-time football program with a lot of tradition. They’ve always been one of the top 20 programs in the nation.
“They have really been showing me a lot of love. Coach (Dennis) Wagner checks in with me all the time, wanting to know how my family is, how school’s going, stuff like that. I get a lot of handwritten letters from them. It’s cool because they are more personal. They care about what’s going on with me besides football.
“Notre Dame is number two,” Leslie said. “It doesn’t get much bigger than Notre Dame. They haven’t offered yet, but I have a feeling they’re about to. I’m going out to their spring game on April 4. I think they just want to see me in person, before they offer since they don’t recruit much from California.
“I talk to Coach (Rob) Ianello all the time. I just talked with him yesterday. He’s been keeping me posted on what’s going on. He told me that they really need corners and that I fit the prototype they are looking for. I got to meet him at a combine last year and we really hit it off. He’s a great coach.
“I like the support system they have at Notre Dame,” he said. “The tradition there is really cool too. I think I’d have a great opportunity there, especially since their defense had an off year last year. That doesn’t bother me—everyone has a bad year sometime.”
Leslie, who benches 250 pounds and squats 405 pounds, said that the Huskies are next on his list. “Me and J.D. Williams (defensive backs) have a great relationship. When he was at Cal he came to my school to recruit a couple of guys. That’s when I met him. We stayed in touch and got to know each other.
“They offered me a month ago,” he said. “Coach (Tyrone) Willingham is a great coach too, coming from Notre Dame. I know I would have a chance to start early there because they really need backs. They’ve been showing me a lot of love too. I’m going to take an official (visit) up there in September.
“I like Georgia Tech a lot too. They’ve been recruiting me pretty hard. Coach (Chan) Gailey texts me all the time to let me know how practices are going—just giving me updates. I call him about once a week just to check in also. I just sent them some more film this week. I’m planning on taking an official there during the season sometime.
“I really like that they are in Atlanta,” he said. “There is so much to do out there. It’s like the Hollywood of the South. They are a big-time program that produces a lot of good defensive backs. It would be good experience for the next level for me. I think they’ll be offering soon too.
“My number five is Oregon. I haven’t been there, but I want to take a trip for sure, maybe in June. I talk with Coach (Gary) Campbell like once a week. I really want to go up there and check out their facilities. I heard they are really nice.
“Oregon is a big-time program too and it’s in the Pac-10. I don’t really care about the conference or distance, but I’m more familiar with the west coast teams. Coach (Mike) Belotti has put together a great program that just gets better every year.”
Leslies says that academics are important to him. “Academics, the opportunity to play early and the relationship with the coaches are what I’m looking at. I want a good education and I want to go somewhere that can prepare me for the next level, whether that is football or not.
“I’m best at my ability to cover just as well as any corner, since I play safety,” he said. “I have good agility for my size and I’m fast in the open field. I need to read the field better and maybe be a little faster on my jump on the ball.”
Leslie reports a 3.3 core GPA and says he plans on taking his SAT in May or June.