He made his first catch by the second game of his freshman year. By the start of his sophomore year he had earned a scholarship. He went from a reedy 200 pounds to a block-of-granite 240. He became a walk-on who willed himself into a leader. He stayed steady as losses, injuries and a modest catch count could have eaten away at his resolve.
His commitment didn’t waver off the field either. As a junior, he was named a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy honoring the top scholar-athlete in college football. He earned his bachelor’s in business administration last December and is currently pursuing his master’s in analytics. He’s dedicated countless volunteer hours to Scottish Rite Hospital. He still texts almost every week with Brentley Russell, a young leukemia patient whom he befriended on one of his visits. In October, Leonard was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, an award honoring “college football’s best leaders who exhibit exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.”
Key talks often about being a “Tech Man.” To him, here’s no greater honorific. It’s reserved only for those who live and breathe the values – toughness, intelligence, discipline, unselfishness – that set a Georgia Tech student apart.
Key has called Leonard a “Tech Man” often this fall. On the Yellow Jackets, it’s hard to find a coach and player who are more kindred spirits.
“I think what it really comes down to [is] we both care about this place so much and want to win here so badly. Obviously, he’s a Tech Man. I’m a Tech Man now after I graduate in December. We’ve been through such lows together, and such highs, and it’s kindled that relationship between us,” Leonard said.
His value has jumped even more this year with the arrival of offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, whose playbook uses a heavy dose of two-tight end sets. Leonard steeled himself in the offseason for all the kinds of blocking his job would require.
“The tight end is one of the hardest positions to play. People expect you and count on you to block like an offensive lineman. They expect you to run routes like a receiver. They expect you to do all the shifts and the motions and all the things that take place, especially within our offense. The precision that you have to have at that position, and the detail – when you’re doing all of those things, that’s hard. It’s hard physically. It’s hard mentally,” he explained.
According to Key, Leonard’s talents – both tangible and intangible – have shined in Faulkner’s system.
“To be able to do everything so unselfishly, to put the team first, those are the guys that I love,” he said.
“He’s very versatile in everything we ask him to do within the offense … There’s not enough positive things that you can say about it,” Faulkner added.
Leonard appreciates that love. Being a “Tech Man” will always have a deeply meaningful ring to him. Another touchdown wouldn’t hurt either. But for now, he wants to add one more title: bowl-eligible Tech Man. That, he knows, would guarantee him another month with the program that has already given him so much.
A showdown with Syracuse awaits. But putting on his uniform for the final times in his Georgia Tech career, Dylan Leonard is already sure of one thing.
“This is my home. It forever will be,” he said.
Competitive Drive Initiative Turn 2
Looking to build on the success of last year’s Competitive Drive Initiative, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation and Georgia Tech athletics are partnering once again to launch Competitive Drive Initiative Turn 2. CDI Turn 2 has a goal of raising $2.5 million in new gifts to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund by Dec. 31, and Georgia Tech and the Georgia Tech Foundation will match eligible gifts to accelerate the impact for Tech athletics. Like last year, not only will gifts to CDI Turn 2 be matched, but so will the contributor’s benefits in the way of A-T Fund giving levels and priority points. To learn more and contribute online, visit atfund.org/turn2.
