RTI recruiting contributor Landon Steffy is the author of this article
While Tennessee’s summer workouts are underway, the Vols’ coaching staff is hard at work on the recruiting trail. Tennessee is hosting several elite prospects on campus over the next couple weeks, and next weekend they are set to host an elite offensive guard from Florida on an official visit.
Per his Twitter account, Tennessee is set to host three-star offensive guard Richie Leonard on an official visit next weekend. Leonard measures in at 6-foot-2, 320 pounds and is from Cocoa, Florida and plays for Cocoa High School.
Tennessee Official Visit Next Weekend #GBO ??? pic.twitter.com/PGJS7AvQLS
— Richie Leonard IV™ (@richieleonardiv) June 11, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Leonard is the No. 699 overall player, No. 42 offensive guard, and No. 98 player in the state of Florida. Leonard recently decommitted from Kentucky on April 19th of this year after being committed to them since October 21st of last year. Since then, he has released a list of his top seven teams, and Tennessee earned a spot on that list along with Florida, Florida State, Miami, UCF, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech.
Despite decommitting from Kentucky, Leonard continues to keep the Wildcats involved in his recruitment. He took an official visit to Lexington at the beginning of June. He’s also officially visited Georgia Tech already.
Leonard’s trip to Knoxville later this month won’t be his first time at UT. He unofficially visited for Tennessee’s Orange & White Game in April, and it was a week after that visit that he announced his decommitment from Kentucky.
The sizable lineman has very good balance, which is key for an offensive lineman both in run and pass blocking. His strength-to-size ratio stands out on film as well. He also has very good feet and is able to slide and move smoothly. He has a very good first punch as an offensive lineman.
Leonard was recently named Offensive Line MVP of Nike’s The Opening regional camp in Orlando back in February. He also plays for his high school baseball team and won MVP for his team this past season, further showing off his athleticism.
Leonard is set to make his college commitment announcement on July 5th, just a few weeks from now.
Our Take:
Tennessee is expected to load up on offensive lineman for the 2020 class. Getting Leonard on campus is key, and this will be one to watch with his commitment date just three weeks away. Florida State looks to be a big threat in his recruitment, as he has visited them twice since being offered by the Seminoles.
But don’t rule out Tennessee, as they have hosted him once already this year for the Orange and White game and will be hosting him again. With his official visit so close to his commitment date, it’s anyone’s guess what can happen.
