Leonard discusses his decision
Offensive lineman Cannon Leonard officially accepted Iowa's scholarship offer on Tuesday, giving the Hawkeyes his verbal commitment one day after receiving it on a visit to campus. Following his announcement, we caught up with the big 6-foot-9, 265-pound Illinois native to talk about his decision, his future as a Hawkeye, playing against his brother in the Big Ten, and much more.
Q: First, can you please walk us through the decision? What led to your commitment shortly after receiving the Iowa offer this week?
LEONARD: What led me to committing so shortly was that I felt it was the right place for me and that at Iowa I would be put in the best position to succeed with their courses and coaching staff.
Q: Could you expand on that a little as far as what makes Iowa the right place for you?
LEONARD: The relationship Coach Barnett and I have developed and just the history of Iowa developing great offensive linemen.
Q: Did you have any schools reach out right away on Monday after you announced the offer?
LEONARD: After the Iowa offer, I was contacted by Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan, and K-State.
Q: What other camps did you make it to this month?
LEONARD: Illinois and Northern Iowa.
Q: Your older brother (Clayton Leonard) is at Illinois. Did they show interest or never really got involved?
LEONARD: They showed a little interest in the beginning of the recruiting process, but haven’t showed any interest since.
Q: Looking down the road, what will that be like seeing your brother on the opposite sideline in college?
LEONARD: It will be awesome. We have put countless hours of work in together and playing together from elementary school to high school and now will be parting ways and pursuing our dreams at different schools. We have always competed in everything and I look forward to playing against him in college.
Q: You also have a connection to Iowa basketball recruit Owen Freeman as well as Brock Harding, who they recently offered, right?
LEONARD: Yes. We built a great relationship over the summers where we played AAU basketball together and it's great to see friends of mine receiving such great opportunities.
Q: You have played both guard and tackle, right? What's the plan for college?
LEONARD: Yes, I have played both guard and tackle in high school, but I will be playing tackle in college.
Q: What did you measure in at for Iowa's camp?
LEONARD: 6'9", 265 lbs. with a 7’ wingspan and 11” hands.
Q: Lastly, what's the feeling like today just 24 hours after making your announcement?
LEONARD: The feeling the past 24 hours has been amazing. I am somewhat of a local celebrity now in my small town. Going to football workouts and out in public, everyone is tell me congrats and that it's great to see my hard work paying off.
A three-star prospect, Leonard chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Army, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Florida Atlantic, Fordham, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Long Island, Illinois State, Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois, and Yale.
Overall, Leonard is commitment No. 12 for Iowa, joining Marco Lainez, Alex Mota, Maddux Borcherding-Johnson, Chase Brackney, Leighton Jones, Ben Kueter, John Nestor, Zach Lutmer, Aidan Hall, David Caulker, and Kendrick Raphael in the Class of 2023 for the Hawkeyes.
See highlights from Leonard's junior year at Iroquois West High School in Gilman, IL in the video below.