Colts rookie Darius Leonard playing like a 'maniac'

Stephen Holder | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption Colts hold physical practice Saturday The Indianapolis Colts held their first padded practice at training camp Saturday, July 28.

WESTFIELD – Darius Leonard hasn’t played his first NFL game, but he’s arguably already met his greatest nemesis:

Himself.

The Indianapolis Colts’ second-round pick has managed in recent months to be his own worst enemy. After sustaining a quadriceps injury while running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year, he failed to do the one thing you’d expect from an injured player.

Relaxing is not part of Leonard’s identity. You don’t earn the nickname “Maniac” by conceding to a mere injury.

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“Being Darius, he was going to go work out for teams” in pre-draft visits despite his injury, General Manager Chris Ballard said. “Well, when he worked out for teams, he hurt it again and got sore again.”

Then the Colts selected him in April and, in Leonard’s only day of participation in rookie minicamp, he tweaked the quad again. “We finally just said, let’s get him healthy and get him back,” Ballard said. “And that meant shutting him down and just rehabbing.” Leonard spent the rest of the offseason on the sideline before finally returning for the start of training camp Thursday.

That’s Leonard: Tough as nails, stubborn to a fault.

And he sees it as a veritable compliment.

“I came from a very small school. There was no such thing as being down,” said the South Carolina State product. “We played hurt. I played every position on the field. I never came off. We were taught to fight through pain. That’s how I grew up. Growing up with a single mom, I knew how to fight for what I need. That was going to be my biggest thing, showing people that I can go. I just wanted to go.”

That he did, even when he should not have. And it cost him valuable snaps, not insignificant for a guy the Colts hope can win the starting weak-side linebacker job.

“It was very hard, especially for a guy like me,” Leonard said. “I probably should have stayed out, knowing my quad wasn’t 100 percent. It was hard that whole month, not really getting the reps that I need, knowing that I needed the reps.”

Now, the reps are coming. So, too, are the big plays.

Leonard already has recorded one of the top plays of this young training camp, with his interception of quarterback Andrew Luck on Thursday undoubtedly embedded in the minds of every teammate and coach. It was exactly the kind of play the Colts are seeking from this revamped, yet unknown, group of linebackers.

We don’t know these guys. Truth be told, the Colts don’t, either. But they think they have a bead on Leonard, having scouted him with intense scrutiny before pulling the trigger on the pick back in April. The Colts were in pursuit of linebackers who can play with speed, cover backs and tight ends as well as find ball carriers in traffic. They believe they have found such a package in Leonard, who has already begun to confirm the team’s projections – the Luck interception being just one example.

“Those are the guys we’re looking for in the scheme,” defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said. “Linebackers who can play and move and react like a defensive back.”

You’re probably wondering how a seemingly normal kid, which Leonard appears to be, earns a nickname as suggestive and descriptive as “Maniac.”

This was a question that had to be asked. Leonard took a moment to explain after Saturday’s practice.

“After the Clemson game in 2016, when I got 19 tackles, when I came back to campus, they started calling me Maniac,” Leonard said of his college teammates. It was film of that game that sold Ballard on making such an audacious draft pick. Earlier this year, the GM invited a group of reporters into the team’s draft room to break down their picks. As he cued up film of Leonard, he was practically giddy while loading Leonard’s Clemson performance.

If you think such a nickname suggests chaos, well, you’re right. Kind of.

“Controlled chaos,” Leonard clarified. “It’s got to be controlled.”

The true chaos, Leonard hopes, will be unleashed on opponents. But first, he has to earn his way onto the field. That process is underway. Leonard is seeing an increasing number of snaps with the first-team defense, an indication that the time he missed during the offseason isn’t holding him back. Those opportunities are likely to continue. While Leonard might be inexperienced, he possesses as much talent as anyone in this group of linebackers.

Perhaps not everyone is convinced of that given his status as a player who hails from an FCS college program. Not that Leonard is fazed by it.

“I’ve been overlooked ever since I was little,” he said. “I love to prove people wrong.”

While his brother, Anthony Waters, played at Clemson before joining the New Orleans Saints, Leonard never got the chance. Clemson didn’t offer the South Carolina native a scholarship. So, he went out and played like a maniac against them instead.

Now, Leonard is out to prove once more that he has a long memory.

“Everybody said I run a 4.7,” Leonard said, referring to his time in the 40-yard dash. “I just want you watch me on the field and see if you see a 4.7. You’ll notice it was the quad, and it wasn’t me.”

This is why Leonard can’t relax. He has too many people to disprove. Too many statements to make.

Now, just sit back and watch the maniac work.