’08 CA S Brandon Leslie (Georgia Tech LOI/Transfer to Hawaii)

[irishunclebill]

Brandon Leslie - Safety
Fresno (CA) Edison

Links of Interest:

Height: 5 foot-11
Weight: 194 lbs.

Combine
Forty: 4.6
Bench Reps:
Bench Max: 235 lbs.
Squat Max:
Shuttle:
Vertical: 35 in.
GPA: 3.3

Star Ratings
Rivals.com: ***
Scout.com: ***

Rankings & Accolades
Rivals National Safety #34 Rivals California Top 100 #69
Scout National Safety #22


Statistics
2006- Injured DNP
2007-

Schools of Interest
Nebraska
Georgia Tech
Notre Dame
UCLA
USC
Stanford
Utah
Washington
Nevada
Air Force
Arizona

[irishunclebill]

Brandon Leslie:

[irishunclebill]

Originally posted by NDGirlzRock



Brandon Leslie Waiting

So Rivals says that Brandon Leslie, who it was said was going to announce soon, has put this plan on hold. Could this be in an effort to see if McCarthy verbals to ND or OSU? I'll answer my own question here and say yes, eventhough I think that if Mac decides to go with the Mr. Rodgers reject, Leslie still won't get an offer. In the above case I think that J. Brown goes to CB and one of the greatest names in college football, other than Stonebreaker (kisses Stoney), Slaughter plays Safety. We will find out next week for sure when Mac does the Irish jig at Mooney for all to see.

[irishunclebill]

Brandon is coming off of a shoulder injury which forced him to miss his entire Junior season.

He has a large extended family in Lincoln, NE, and in Chicago, and is looking to play CFB outside of California. Brandon has been lobbying the Irish for an offer for an extended period of time and has implied that ND would be his favorite if they offered. This has led to a roller coaster recruiting ride for Brandon. He attended the Notre Dame B&G weekend in April hoping for an offer, and when he did not receive one, he started to look elsewhere, primarily focusing on Nebraska & Georgia Tech. At that point Leslie also intimated that he would like to make an early decision. However, towards the end of May, Brandon changed his tune again after a visit from Jappy Oliver. ND was now back in the loop again as he had apparently now accepted the reality that if he wants to get more big time offers, he would have to wait until the Fall for schools to see whether he has fully recovered from the shoulder injury that caused him to miss his entire Junior Year. At that time he was holding offers from AFA, GT, Nebraska, Stanford, Washington, and Nevada. Since then the only additional offer for Brandon was from Utah.

By early July, Brandon, still with no ND offer, had grown impatient again, and he announced last Tuesday that he would be choosing between Nebraska & Georgia Tech this coming Monday, July 16th. The general feeling was that Leslie was heading to Lincoln. Three days later and there is another abrupt change as Brandon announces that he is postponing his decision because he wants to re-visit GT and Nebraska to make certain of his choice. He also said that he had already selected one of the two schools, but wanted to make sure.

The timing of all of this is just too coincidental with the impending McCarthy announcement to believe Leslie’s change of plans had nothing to do with it. It is obvious that Leslie is not overjoyed by the schools that have offered him, and would really like to get an offer from Notre Dame. There are a few scenarios that might explain Brandon’s postponement.

1) If McCarthy does go to OSU, Leslie may have been told that he will get an offer, and he may have been advised to postpone his decision until after McCarthy’s if he really wants a chance at an Irish offer. Just because he has received that advice does not necessarily mean that the ND coaching staff knows for certain that McCarthy is headed elsewhere. They still may not know, and just told Brandon that an extra day can’t hurt him, and may help him.
2) Leslie saw the announcement time for McCarthy, and on his own simply decided to wait on the McCarthy news.
3) There are more problems in Lincoln than just Trev Robinson getting cold feet, and Leslie had second thoughts about committing there.
4) It has nothing to do with any of the above and Leslie simply had another change of heart.

We should know the answers to some of these questions by the end of next week. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[irishunclebill]

Originally posted by NDGirlzRock



Quote:
Brandon Leslie Waiting

So Rivals says that Brandon Leslie, who it was said was going to announce soon, has put this plan on hold. Could this be in an effort to see if McCarthy verbals to ND or OSU? I'll answer my own question here and say yes, eventhough I think that if Mac decides to go with the Mr. Rodgers reject, Leslie still won't get an offer. In the above case I think that J. Brown goes to CB and one of the greatest names in college football, other than Stonebreaker (kisses Stoney), Slaughter plays Safety. We will find out next week for sure when Mac does the Irish jig at Mooney for all to see.

I would not be so sure that Leslie does not get an offer if McCarthy is OSU bound. By all accounts this kid was a stud DB his sophomore year, and the only reason for his 3 star ratings is because he did not play at all his Junior year. If he has fully recovered from his injury, and plays this Fall as well as he played as a Sophomore, he is a probable 4 star everywhere. USC & UCLA were definitely interested in Leslie until the injury, and he could still get a USC offer if he is willing to wait until they see him play in September. Brandon is a bit too antsy for that and seems like he wants to get this all over with, unfortunately, he is also not completely happy with his current choices. If ND intends to offer him if McCarthy stays in Ohio, it will happen right away. For different reasons, neither ND or Leslie are going to wait until September to see if they are compatible. By this time next week, I think we know one way or the other whether Brandon Leslie's thread will have more than a couple of pages.

[IrishCalves]

I remember Leslie saying he was being recruited as a big corner, similar to how Blanton and Slaughter have been targeted/recruited. Why the assumed correlation between Leslie and McCarthy when they're being recruited for different positions?

[UpstateIrish43]

My guess would be Leslie fits that role of a large corner, which Corwin has listed as a priority, and this could potentially allow Slaughter to play his natural position of safety. Or, leslie could also come in as a corner, giving Corwin three large bodies at that position, and the make safety a priority next year. ... Just a guess on my part.

[scooper]

Or bring them all in and see what shakes out.

[irishunclebill]

I remember Leslie saying he was being recruited as a big corner, similar to how Blanton and Slaughter have been targeted/recruited. Why the assumed correlation between Leslie and McCarthy when they're being recruited for different positions?

The cornerback talk started when Jappy visited him in May. That may have had something to do with more confidence in McCarthy at the time, or simply CB's philosophy of physical corners, of which Leslie fits the mold. With the exception of McCarthy all of the DB's we have recruited or have a shot at could play multiple positions. Leslie would be another one. If he really is next in line if McCarthy bails, and that is nothing but a theory anyway, then I don't think they are looking at him to specifically play either position. When they all get on the field, they will see who is best suited for each DB position.

[NDGirlzRock]

I remember Leslie saying he was being recruited as a big corner, similar to how Blanton and Slaughter have been targeted/recruited. Why the assumed correlation between Leslie and McCarthy when they're being recruited for different positions?

I think that the assumption is based in the fact that ND already has two recruits that could play either position. But their natural abilities lend themselves to the safety position. I'm still of the school that Leslie won't get an offer because J. Brown's talents lend themselves to CB. When, and I repeat when, JB commits and if Mac picks the bluckeyes, then the natural progression will be to move Blanton or Slaughter to safety. My money would be on Slaughter in this scenario.

[rontdtarchala]

agree ndgr

[scooper]

I'm starting to wonder if Brown won't ultimately end up at Florida.

[irishunclebill]

After almost committing to Nebraska in July, even telling certain recruiting analysts that he was going to announce that before backing off, Brandon Leslie gave GT his verbal commit over the weekend while in Atlanta for an Official Visit.

[irishunclebill]

LOI to Georgia Tech.

LOL- also ND=NC's mystery recruit.

That "inside info":rolleyes: can be really tricky sometimes.

[irishunclebill]

Brandon ends up in Hawaii after redshirting at GT in 2008, playing as a RS Freshman there in 2009, and transferring to a JUCO for the 2010 season. He will have two years of eligibility at Hawaii.

http://hscalifornia.scout.com/2/1047689.html


Leslie Makes the Call

By Mario Gomez

Posted Feb 12, 2011

College of the Sequoias (Visalia, Calif.) sophomore safety Brandon Leslie made his verbal commitment on Friday. The three-star safety is headed to the WAC to finish his college career…

Brandon Leslie (6-1, 206) signed with Georgia Tech out of Fresno (Calif.) Edison in 2008. After a redshirt season, he played on the Yellow Jackets’ 2009 Orange Bowl team. However, with his father ill, he decided to come back to the Golden State to be closer to home.

After one season at COS, Leslie captured the attention of many schools. Initially, he planned to stay closer to home possibly in the Pac-10, where his three counterparts from the famed 2007 Edison secondary currently play. But his journey will take me across the sea.

“I’m playing in the WAC next year at Hawaii,” said Leslie. “It’s the best situation.”

Leslie committed Friday, but he will not sign his National Letter of Intent until next Friday (Feb. 18) when he takes his official visit.

He plans to enroll in the summer, and he will have two years to play two.