Dabo's message to Colts' 2nd-round pick, who wanted a Clemson offer but didn't get it

Darius Leonard wanted nothing more than to play at Clemson coming out of Lake View High, but he didn't receive an offer to play for the Tigers, where his half-brother Anthony Waters was a star.

Leonard instead went to S.C. State, where he was a two-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. The linebacker set a school record with 394 tackles in his career, and he was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the NFL draft, No. 36 overall, last week.

The 6-foot-2, 234-pound linebacker spoke with The State after being selected by the Colts and recapped a conversation with Tigers coach Dabo Swinney from a few months ago.

“I talked to coach Swinney in January at a National Football Foundation program in New York. We had a few conversations,” Leonard said. “We talked. He said he wishes he would’ve had me, and he missed on me.”

The Tigers have recruited exceptionally well under Swinney and have had success with players who did not receive heavy FBS interest, including cornerback Ryan Carter, who finished his playing career with the Tigers in 2017.

But Clemson did not offer Leonard a scholarship, which he says was a driving force behind his stellar career at the FCS level.

“That put a big chip on my shoulder not going there, but I made the best of what I had at South Carolina State and just went from there,” Leonard said.

He did get to play one game at Death Valley and had a career afternoon, recording 19 tackles, including a tackle for loss in 2016. He also blocked a kick against the Tigers in the blowout loss.

Leonard recorded seven more tackles than S.C. State’s second-leading tackler that day and 13 more tackles than anyone on Clemson’s team.

“That game was probably the best game of my career, just playing over there at Death Valley, wanting to be there,” Leonard said. “It was great playing that game.”

Leonard again proved that he was capable of playing at the FBS level when he won Defensive MVP honors at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., in January, recording a game-high 14 tackles in the all-star game.

That performance, as well as other impressive ones throughout his college career, helped him to get drafted by the Colts in the second round last week. Leonard was with his family and friends, including Waters, when he received the news.

“It was great having my family here with me, just to enjoy this moment,” Leonard said. “They know how much I wanted it, and they’ve been there since Day 1. It was a great honor to have my family with me.”

This story was originally published May 1, 2018 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Dabo's message to Colts' 2nd-round pick, who wanted a Clemson offer but didn't get it."