JUNIOR COLLEGE: Earned first-team all-Mission Conference honors in 1998 … earned all-state accolades as well … selected as the Freshman of the Year at El Camino … passed for 2,765 yards and 31 touchdowns in 11 games at El Camino in his first season at El Camino … threw just eight interceptions while completing 62.5 percent of his passes … capped his season at El Camino by throwing for 572 yards (school record) and a school record eight touchdowns against Santa Monica College in the South Bay Classic Bowl … coached at El Camino by John Featherstone.
HIGH SCHOOL: A 1998 graduate of Mater Dei High School … earned first-team all-South Coast League honors as a senior … also earned first-team Division I all-California Interscholastic Federation (C.I.F.) kudos for the Southern Section … passed for 2,463 yards, 21 touchdowns, three interceptions and completed 61 percent of his passes in 14 games as a senior … set a school record for yards passing in a single game with 406 versus Mission Viejo High … named the Mater Dei Offensive Player of the Year in 1997 … during Leonard’s tenure, Mater Dei won 27 games in a row and was league champion all four of his years there … led team to two C.I.F. Championship games at the Los Angeles Coliseum … Mater Dei won the 1994 and 1996 USA Today National Championship … member of the National Honor Society … coached by Bruce Rollinson.
PERSONAL: Major is undecided … parents are Doyle (insurance) and Beverly (homemaker) Leonard of Huntington Beach, Calif. … born August 20, 1980 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. … lists most exciting experience in sports as winning the 1996 USA Today National Championship at Mater Dei Mater Dei won the 1994 and 1996 USA Today National Championship… full name is John R. Leonard.
