LB misses Duke trip

Seattle (Wash.) Ranier Beach linebacker/tight end Adam Leonard wasn’t able to work out some travel details to visit Duke as scheduled this past weekend, but the Blue Devils remain very high on his list.

“I’m looking to go maybe around Jan. 7, but we haven’t worked out the details,” Leonard said. “I got injured during this year and tore my ACL (right knee) which caused a lot of schools to back off, but Duke has stayed interested. I really like the coaches there and right now Duke is the school I’m most interested in.”

Leonard, who had former college coach Rick Neuheisel as an assistant coach for a while at Rainier Beach high school, was lucky enough to have the team doctor for the Seattle Mariners do the surgery and said his knee is coming along fine. When the 6-foot-1, 225-pound star’s senior season ended in October he had 25 tackles and one interception. He is the two-time Metro League Sound Division defensive most valuable player.

“I’m doing good and I’m ahead of the rehab schedule,” Leonard said. “It was very tough at first when I wasn’t able to finish the season. But I’m putting my faith in God and looking to see what the next opportunity is.”

Leonard, who will get an in home visit from Idaho this week, said he likes the direction Duke is going in.

“It would be a really chance to be a part of building something,” Leonard said. “They are a young team, but they compete hard in the ACC which is a tough league. I like they way they aren’t going to back down from a challenge.”

The three-star player said he hasn’t committed and he knows some schools might get in late. He has no other official visits set up right now.

“I like Duke a lot, and they have kept sending me things when other schools have backed off,” Leonard said. “I’ll see what happens over the next few weeks.”