Rising Star: Tomball's Jordan Leslie
As soon as Jordan Leslie switched from quarterback to wide receiver, it was quickly apparent to him and his coaches at Tomball what position he'll play in college. Thanks to a monster, 1,000-yard junior season, it became apparent to colleges too, as Leslie began to get a lot of attention from some big-name schools.
Inside Texas traveled to Tomball to meet with the 2010 wide receiver and his head coach, Tommy Kaiser, and talk recruiting.
When Coach Tommy Kaiser arrived at Tomball two years ago, he knew immediately that he was going to have a special football player in freshman quarterback Jordan Leslie. But unlike most QBs, Leslie didn't want to stay at the position. He had another one in mind. “I've always wanted to play receiver and I thought it would be a good fit for me. It turned out pretty good,” said Leslie. By 'pretty good', Leslie means he ended up with 54 catches for 770 yards and 5 TDs in his first season as a varsity receiver in 2007 and then followed it up with 59 catches for 1,054 yards (good for 17.9 ypc) and 10 TDs his junior season. Kaiser said Leslie took to the position from the get-go. “It didn't take too long, he's really athletic,” said Kaiser. “His athletic ability is incredible and he has really big, strong hands that pretty much catch everything. He makes the routine catches but he also makes the un-routine catches.” With a pair of prolific seasons, interest from universities soon followed. He received some questionnaires from schools his sophomore year but when he started really tearing the turf as a junior, letter after letter soon followed from the biggest schools in the area, such as Oklahoma, LSU and Texas. He's now in the thick of basketball season, but Leslie has taken the time to get the ball rolling in recruiting. The 6-2, 195-pound wideout has already taken a pair of Junior Day visits (LSU and Texas A&M) and plans on taking at least one more before its all said and done. While he gets his initial feel for schools, there are two main things Leslie pays attention to. “I look at the facilities, such as the stadium and the locker room, and I visit the academic center to see how they help the athlete. Things like that,” said Leslie. Of course, Leslie hasn't needed much help in his academics so far. He's averaging a 93 out of 100 in his classes. He took his SAT as a sophomore and scored in the 1500s, which is a solid score, but plans on taking it again. “I know I can do better on it as a junior,” said Leslie. Out of his last two visits, A&M left the strongest impression because he got to have a sit down with Aggie coaches to talk football, academics and life. “I really didn't have much time to sit down and talk with the coaches (at LSU). At A&M I got to sit down and talk with the coaches. The coaches were really nice and I liked the facilities at A&M a lot. It was really nice and they've done a lot of fixing it up,” said Leslie. Leslie currently doesn't have any scholarship offers, but with the amount of mail he's getting and the talks he's had with several coaches, he's been given the impression from schools that offers should start coming in after Wednesday's Signing Day. “It looks promising,” said Leslie. Whichever school ends up getting Leslie, the No. 16 overall player in Inside Texas' Top 100 for 2010, Kaiser says they'll be getting the complete package. “He's very good kid, very conscientious in his classes and teachers love him. Coaches love him too from that standpoint,” said Kaiser. “He's really pretty quiet off the field, but he's very, very, very competitive, which you like. He likes to catch every single ball that's thrown in his direction and he likes the ball in crunch time.” Leslie isn't an overly vocal player, but he has a high standard when it comes to football and said that, when it's necessary, he lets his teammates know it. “I expect a lot from my teammates and expect them to make plays. I'll be the first person to tell them if they did wrong, but I'll be the first person to tell them if I've done the same thing, so it's ok,” said Leslie. He plans on keeping that high standard at the next level and we don't yet know where it will be. Leslie doesn't know yet either, but recruiting process is now underway for the talented receiver and he'll start narrowing down the choices soon. “I'm just trying to see who would be the best fit for me and will help me out the best,” said Leslie. Inside Texas subscribers: Go deeper into Leslie's recruitment. How much interest is there from Texas? What Junior Day is up next for him? What schools are recruiting him the hardest? How long will the recruiting process last for Leslie? -- Members Only: Is Texas on Jordan Leslie's radar? Is he on Texas'? Plus, Leslie is the main D-I prospect at Tomball in the 2010 class, but the Cougars' 2011 class has two big prospects at a position that could be very important in that class -- Members Only: Will Texas look to Tomball for key position in 2011?
When Coach Tommy Kaiser arrived at Tomball two years ago, he knew immediately that he was going to have a special football player in freshman quarterback Jordan Leslie. But unlike most QBs, Leslie didn't want to stay at the position. He had another one in mind. “I've always wanted to play receiver and I thought it would be a good fit for me. It turned out pretty good,” said Leslie. By 'pretty good', Leslie means he ended up with 54 catches for 770 yards and 5 TDs in his first season as a varsity receiver in 2007 and then followed it up with 59 catches for 1,054 yards (good for 17.9 ypc) and 10 TDs his junior season. Kaiser said Leslie took to the position from the get-go. “It didn't take too long, he's really athletic,” said Kaiser. “His athletic ability is incredible and he has really big, strong hands that pretty much catch everything. He makes the routine catches but he also makes the un-routine catches.” With a pair of prolific seasons, interest from universities soon followed. He received some questionnaires from schools his sophomore year but when he started really tearing the turf as a junior, letter after letter soon followed from the biggest schools in the area, such as Oklahoma, LSU and Texas. He's now in the thick of basketball season, but Leslie has taken the time to get the ball rolling in recruiting. The 6-2, 195-pound wideout has already taken a pair of Junior Day visits (LSU and Texas A&M) and plans on taking at least one more before its all said and done. While he gets his initial feel for schools, there are two main things Leslie pays attention to. “I look at the facilities, such as the stadium and the locker room, and I visit the academic center to see how they help the athlete. Things like that,” said Leslie. Of course, Leslie hasn't needed much help in his academics so far. He's averaging a 93 out of 100 in his classes. He took his SAT as a sophomore and scored in the 1500s, which is a solid score, but plans on taking it again. “I know I can do better on it as a junior,” said Leslie. Out of his last two visits, A&M left the strongest impression because he got to have a sit down with Aggie coaches to talk football, academics and life. “I really didn't have much time to sit down and talk with the coaches (at LSU). At A&M I got to sit down and talk with the coaches. The coaches were really nice and I liked the facilities at A&M a lot. It was really nice and they've done a lot of fixing it up,” said Leslie. Leslie currently doesn't have any scholarship offers, but with the amount of mail he's getting and the talks he's had with several coaches, he's been given the impression from schools that offers should start coming in after Wednesday's Signing Day. “It looks promising,” said Leslie. Whichever school ends up getting Leslie, the No. 16 overall player in Inside Texas' Top 100 for 2010, Kaiser says they'll be getting the complete package. “He's very good kid, very conscientious in his classes and teachers love him. Coaches love him too from that standpoint,” said Kaiser. “He's really pretty quiet off the field, but he's very, very, very competitive, which you like. He likes to catch every single ball that's thrown in his direction and he likes the ball in crunch time.” Leslie isn't an overly vocal player, but he has a high standard when it comes to football and said that, when it's necessary, he lets his teammates know it. “I expect a lot from my teammates and expect them to make plays. I'll be the first person to tell them if they did wrong, but I'll be the first person to tell them if I've done the same thing, so it's ok,” said Leslie. He plans on keeping that high standard at the next level and we don't yet know where it will be. Leslie doesn't know yet either, but recruiting process is now underway for the talented receiver and he'll start narrowing down the choices soon. “I'm just trying to see who would be the best fit for me and will help me out the best,” said Leslie. Inside Texas subscribers: Go deeper into Leslie's recruitment. How much interest is there from Texas? What Junior Day is up next for him? What schools are recruiting him the hardest? How long will the recruiting process last for Leslie? -- Members Only: Is Texas on Jordan Leslie's radar? Is he on Texas'? Plus, Leslie is the main D-I prospect at Tomball in the 2010 class, but the Cougars' 2011 class has two big prospects at a position that could be very important in that class -- Members Only: Will Texas look to Tomball for key position in 2011?
