CSU should let 3rd-string QB Craig Leonard start vs. UNLV

One snap. That’s all it is.

CSU had 71 snaps in last week’s win at Wyoming — he took four of them — so why not let him take the first Saturday?

It’s one snap that would feel so inconsequential when the game ends, but to Craig Leonard, it would mean the world.

After four years of being the third-string quarterback at Colorado State University, in his final home game, Leonard could rightfully tell his grandchildren one day that he was a starting QB in college, a privilege he’s earned.

Leonard came to CSU in 2012 via a prep school in Northern Carolina that didn’t utilize his arm, by way of Fossil Ridge High School, where in his lone varsity season (senior year, after spending the previous two on the high school equivalent of IR with a crummy knee) he passed for 2,558 yards and 26 touchdowns. But one stellar season generally doesn’t grant a prospect a college scholarship offer, and Leonard’s case was no different.

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His only option to play college football was as a preferred walk-on at CSU. So he jumped at it and has been there since, all along knowing he was on a depth chart behind Garrett Grayson and a kid named Nick Stevens who Jim McElwain’s staff signed to be the future of the program.

He knew he was never going to play. He eventually earned a scholarship, sure, but the cheers he heard from teammates when he’d see the field during blowouts as a redshirt freshman and sophomore made him feel like a charity case. And he still stuck around.

Why?

Why, when you could go to CSU-Pueblo, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado Mesa, be a starter and compete for a national championship, did you not transfer?

“I’ve been a Ram my whole life. I watched my first game when I was 8 years old. Bradlee Van Pelt gave me a Nike sweatband when I was young that I still have to this day. There was no other place to me, this is where I wanted to be,” Leonard said. “This place is either going to sink or swim, and we’ve been swimming pretty well the past couple of years. It’s been an awesome ride. It didn’t matter if I played a down here; this was where my career was going to start and end.”

How many kids can say that?

Saying it idealistically, heading to your favorite college as a walk-on, is cute and expected. Saying it after four years with a program on the eve of your final home game is on another level. That’s passion, and Leonard’s dedication to CSU is why he deserves to be the official starter against UNLV on Saturday night.

The Rams have started to show faith in Leonard by designing packages specifically for him that they implemented two weeks ago. He’s become their wildcat quarterback with six carries for 31 yards in games against San Diego State and Wyoming, and has a couple of plays designed that allow him to throw the ball. If he ever does, it will be his first attempted pass as a collegiate athlete.

Coach Mike Bobo said Tuesday he wasn’t against the idea of Leonard taking the opening snap and being the official starter Saturday, although it wasn’t something that had been given a lot of consideration. He added that it depended on the situation and if Leonard’s wildcat package was best suited for what CSU faces during its first offensive push, noting All-American wide receiver Rashard Higgins didn’t start against Boise State due to early matchups.

It’s one snap; not asking for an entire series here. And if coaches trust him enough to run a zone read in the middle of a game, give him the same responsibility during play No. 1.

“I’d totally support (Leonard starting) Saturday. I think that would be awesome. He’s going to be successful on the plays he does have and we want to get him in the game plan again this week,” said Stevens, the everyday starting quarterback. “We haven’t talked about him taking the first snap, but it’s very possible, and I definitely wouldn’t be upset about it. I’d be happy for him.”

Leonard has given the past four years of his life to CSU and has bled school colors since elementary school. That BVP sweatband still sits locked away at his mother’s home in Florida so he has the comfort of knowing it’s safe. He’s not some scout team scrub, he’s a knight of green and gold who has fought with all his might and earned this opportunity

Give him his moment.

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.