What initially started as almost a marriage of convenience became so much more for both Anthony Leonard and hi future college destination West Virginia.

A product of McKeesport High School, nestled about 70 miles from Morgantown, the 230-pound high school linebacker was making a name for himself on the football field. Following a standout junior campaign where he was named all-conference after recording over 100 tackles and five sacks.

Even though the Mountaineers set to take a smaller class, possibly 16 members at the most, the coaching staff took notice of what Leonard was doing. Assistant Tony Gibson took the lead and developed into the bird dog in the Leonard hunt, while head coach Rich Rodriguez was right behind.