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Florida Gators Transfer Richie Leonard IV Discusses Transition To FSU Football
The former Gator is playing his final season of collegiate eligibility with the Seminoles.
With spring practice in full swing for the Florida State Seminoles, players old and new are making a name for themselves in the weeks leading up to the spring showcase, and one of those players is redshirt senior offensive lineman Richie Leonard IV.
After appearing in 31 games with 14 starts for the Florida Gators, Leonard decided to play his final season with the Seminoles. After going through the Tour of Duty and the first few practices in the garnet and gold, it’s safe to say Leonard will be a leader in the locker room as he brings the experience needed to mentor some of the younger guys who are making a name for themselves.
Leonard noted that his transition has been as seamless as possible, as whatever resources he needed were available to him, and the staff was always there to assist him. He also added that he got to work right away, leaving no time to waste.
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“I would say the biggest difference is the verbiage that they use, that’s what I’m trying to get adjusted to here. I would say it’s going pretty well so far,” Leonard said. “I was able to go up and meet extra with the GA’s, assistant coaches, and stuff like that. So definitely, as soon as I got here, it was getting right to it.”
As a senior, it is almost expected for a player to be a leader, if not in the locker room, then amongst the rest of their position group. Leonard has quickly found himself as an elder statesman amongst the offensive linemen, more specifically freshmen Jayden Todd and Tye Hylton.
“I like just the mentality that they bring every day, you know, they’re supposed to still be in high school right now, so coming in and going against some of the guys we go against, you know I just never see any quit in those guys, so that’s what I think I like about them the most.”
With Jordan Travis’ departure, one of the biggest questions in the offseason was what will happen at quarterback. When DJ Uiagalalei committed, it was clear that this team was going to be in good hands, and with a quarterback room with talent across the board, Leonard made it clear that they come to work every day.
“I think not only DJ, but that whole quarterback room is a great group of guys who come in and prepare well every single day, and it’s easy to see that from an offensive line perspective, so definitely that whole room, we’re lucky to have them.”
Leonard and the Seminoles will be back in Doak Campbell Stadium on April 20th at 4:00 P.M. for the annual spring showcase.
Stick with NoleGameday for more coverage of Florida State football throughout the spring.
