Redhawk DB emerging from the shadow of greatness in his own right

Every football fan who follows the Southeast Missouri State program knows of graduate student defensive back Lawrence Johnson and his greatness.

He is a 2023 Preseason All-American, Johnson was All-OVC First Team last fall, and the accolades go on and on and on. However, a BIG reason contributing to Johnson’s success – and Johnson will be the first to admit to this – is the fact that the Redhawks have an array of talented defensive backs roaming through their secondary, which forces the opposition to run and throw in the direction of ALL of the athletes.

One of those talented players is senior defensive back Ty Leonard.

“You can say the word ‘shadow,’” veteran Redhawk defensive pass game coordinator Ray Smith said of Leonard recently, “because Lawrence has been here for a while (and) he got a lot of accolades last year. But ‘T.Y.’ came into his own last year.

“He’s a known name (with us).”

Leonard’s progression to the limelight has been methodical, as it is with a lot of athletes.

Following a redshirt season in 2019, he got on the field in six games in 2020 and made three tackles.

In 2021, he burst onto the scene by starting 10 games and making 39 tackles, a pair of interceptions, and five pass break-ups. That fall, his 29 solo tackles ranked second on the Redhawks.

“If a defensive lineman makes a mistake, it’s six yards,” 10th-year SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz said. “If a cornerback makes a mistake, it’s six points.”

Those 29 solo stops were critical to the Redhawks’ success because many came with Leonard out on an island defensively.

In 2022, Leonard took his game up a BIG notch, as he ranked fourth on SEMO with 50 tackles, including 30 solo stops.

He also showed the ability to play up on the line of scrimmage and made 1 ½ tackles for a loss.

“He just needs to keep getting better at everything,” Smith said of his expectations for Leonard. “He’s got to get more hands on the ball. He has to make sure that he doesn’t give (the opposition) any plays.

“If he gets a chance to make a tackle, then he has to get them down. He can’t have any holes in his game.”

As a junior, the 6-foot, 180-pound defender earned Second Team All-OVC honors. Last month, Leonard and Johnson were two of the 11 defensive backs in the newly formed Big South-OVC Football Association “Top Players to Watch” list.

“We’re working with him to perfect everything,” Smith said. “When teams look at him, they should think ‘Man, I don’t know how many attempts we can throw over there.’

“He needs to be a true, elite shut-down cornerback.”

Within the SEMO program, the level of internal competition is often more challenging than on gamedays.

Leonard and the rest of the Redhawk secondary face the vaunted SEMO offense EVERYDAY, whereas the opposition will only deal with SEMO’s powerful attack one day a year. Smith said Leonard has a great mentality to bring to practice every time out.

“He is highly competitive,” Smith said. “He’ll have a race to see who can put their clothes on the fastest. He’s highly competitive, and that makes him unique.

“This off-season, he got faster, he got stronger, and he got bigger, as far as getting his weight up. He also got smarter in the classroom and with his football IQ.

“He is attacking his game with a whole different mindset.

“I like to say that he redshirted twice, and now he is going into year three as a starter. There is a lot of growth and maturity.”

Leonard has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He and his teammates will open the 2023 regular season on Sept. 2 at Kansas State at 6 p.m. (ESPN +).