If Tre Leonard, a trending local athlete from Florence, South Carolina that is already garnering offers from Appalachian State and Arkansas, keeps putting in the work, the Pee Dee area running back’s name could soon explode on the college football recruiting trail across the United States as a whole.
As the calendar shifts from March to April, the stock of Leonard, a physical, stocky 5 foot-11, 180-pounder with a stocky, well-built frame, continues to rise.
It was Wednesday when he received his No. 3 offer from head coach Jeff Hafley’s Boston College Eagles of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and soon before, he was on campus in the Upstate to check out two-time national champion head coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers on April 2, who have a knack for identifying, recruiting and developing top-level in-state talent, something Leonard works towards becoming each and every day of the calendar year, such as “Mean” Jarvis Green, an extremely dominant back that completely shredded 5A South Carolina high school defenses throughout his four-year career at Dutch Fork.
The Silver Foxes’ star is a personal friend of Leonard’s.
Soon before visiting Clemson, Tre was on campus at Appalachian State University in Boone to get a glimpse of the beautiful mountain backdrop of Kidd-Brewer Stadium at a Sun Belt Conference school that has already won four conference titles on March 22.
“Amazing campus, amazing facilities, amazing (team) culture, amazing everything,” he said of the Mountaineers.
But what Palmetto Preps recruiting editor Lee Wardlaw didn’t mention is the fact that the three-star running back with a knack for hammering the edge on his favorite play with the Trinity Collegiate Titans last fall (the off-tackle rush on the strong side) and transforming to the second level in space with his fast-twitch moves, strong, short-paced trot, marked agility and physicality had the opportunity to visit the University of South Carolina on Thursday, March 23.
The short, 74-mile excursion to tour South Carolina’s 48,000-square-foot Football Operations Center was well worth waiting for the athlete who earned a ticket across town from the 3A SCISA Trojans to the big-time 4A SCHSL West Florence after recording over 1,200 yards in 2022.
The detail-oriented running back also got to witness how third-year head coach Shane Beamer runs a Gamecocks’ practice.
It was high-intensity. I can tell you that the offense and defense were battling the whole time,” he said of the fast-paced, circuit-style drill session in Columbia.
“It was fast-paced. They were going through one drill to the next and the next. (Check for the rest of the quote). They were going through everything very fast,” Leonard reiterated.
Leonard said he was able to get a glimpse of Gamecocks’ freshman quarterback and former Pee Dee legend Lanorris Sellers (South Florence Bruins) during the session.
“I got to see one of my dogs at practice. I haven’t seen him since he was at South Florence. I got to see him throw it around a little bit,” he said.
Here’s how his conversation with Leonard's would-be position coach South Carolina’s running backs’ coach Montario Hardesty went down:
“It was a really (great) conversation. He basically told me, you know, he wants me to come to a camp (over the summer.) He’s already seen me getting bigger, taller, and stronger. He’s been watching my workout videos and knows that I’m continuing to get better,” he said.
The back hasn’t received his big Gamecocks’ offer yet, but he’s confident that his time will come.
“I’m very confident that (South Carolina) will offer me, because I believe in myself. I know I’m going to keep putting in the work to get there. So I’m just going to keep working. I’m just going to keep getting bigger, faster, and strong. I’m going to keep running my routes better and perform my drills better,” the relentless running back that plans to return for a camp date in Columbia this summer said when speaking with Rivals.com.
More offers should be loading shortly for the instate product with a body built like a tank and legs shaped like cannons that simply described Beamer as a “players’ coach.”
The Florence native describes his vision, great balance, and the patience to wait for a hole to open up as his iron-clad trio of best attributes on the gridiron.
His process includes early mornings and late nights, featuring film study, practice, laser-timed 40s, footwork, and jumping drills, all while balancing a busy life that includes a social life, family, and academic studies for the student-athlete while away from the gridiron.
By the time Palmetto Preps reaches back out to Leonard, he may be already hoisting a state championship trophy for his new school at the HBCU Benedict Tigers’ 10,000-seat Charlie W. Johnson Stadium in Dec. 2023.
“That’s the goal. There’s a lot of athletes and this is a great team,” he said.
