Share
For a long time, football gave a lot to C.J. Leak.
Then, football took a lot back.
In high school, during the late '90s, Leak was one of the nation's best quarterbacks, gifted with a 6-foot-4, 225-pound body. He could throw a ball 70 yards and run a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. He was so good Notre Dame, then a major national power, promised to stop recruiting other quarterbacks. Leak shocked the recruiting world when he chose upstart Wake Forest instead of the Fighting Irish on college signing day.
That's when football pulled back. Leak severely injured his knee at Wake Forest and later transferred to Tennessee, where he rarely played but graduated in 2004 with a degree in sociology. After college, he had NFL tryouts with New England and New Orleans but ended up working as a security guard in Atlanta. He hoped for another NFL shot, working out with some Georgia Tech players – including future No.2 draft pick Calvin Johnson – through a contact he'd made at Tennessee.
That's when football started to give back.
His younger brother, Chris, was a star quarterback at Florida and coach Urban Meyer was coming to coach the Gators. Meyer was an assistant at Notre Dame when the Irish recruited Leak at Independence High. Meyer hired Leak to work on his first staff.
“I did everything,” Leak said. “You sleep in the office. You work seven days a week. You get paid nothing.”
Leak made $5.65 an hour as a grad assistant but learned the game from a coaching perspective. In 2006, he made the Buffalo Bills' practice squad as a tight end. The next summer, the Bills offered him a job as a scout. Now in his second year with the Bills, Leak, 27, dreams of becoming a general manager.
He'll be in town Saturday for a free football and cheerleading camp to help kick off his father's new youth league, the Champion Youth Football League. The camp will be at the Smith Language Academy on Tyvola Road.
More than 120 youth, middle school and high school coaches will help run the camp, which will start at noon.
C.J., married with a 4-year-old son, Trey, and a 2-week old daughter, Kaylah, can't wait to share his story.
“Football's been good to me,” he said. “Playing and working at this level, I get to see guys live their dream, and sometimes lose their dream, on the same day. This game is fun, but it's a game. The main thing I want to tell the kids is to have fun.”
Former Butler High softball star Ashton Ward will finish her career at Virginia Tech. Ward was granted a full release from Tennessee and will be eligible next season when she will be a junior. Ward, a high school All-America pitcher, was 30-7 in two seasons at Tennessee, including 27-5 as a freshman with a 1.92 ERA. Vols coaches informed Ward they did not plan for her to pitch next season, prompting the move.
The Summer Hoops Basketball League began its eighth season last week. Games are Monday-Thursday at West Charlotte High. Game times are 6, 7 and 8p.m. Admission is free and fans can see area college players, including current and former NBA players such as Jeff McInnis, Brendan Haywood and Anthony Morrow.
Butler High junior quarterback Christian LeMay received scholarship offers from Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina last week. He will head to the Elite 11 national quarterback camp the week of July20 in California.
On Friday, the Forrest Hunt Midnight Basketball Camp will start at the Hickory YMCA and Highland Recreation Center.
The purpose is to give Hickory-area middle school and high school kids something safe and fun to do.
“Basketball is just the hook,” said Forrest Hunt, a 58-year-old Hickory man who's spent much of his life encouraging and inspiring at-risk youth. “What this camp is really about is becoming a successful human being. We teach these boys and girls they do have another choice besides what they might be seeing on the streets.”
There will be three Friday night sessions – June26, July10 and July17 – when students will complete writing assignments and listen to guest speakers. Go to www.cvcc.edu for more information.
