Anthony Leonard - Football Coach - University of Akron Athletics

Anthony Leonard

Title:
Assistant Coach - Defensive Line
Email:
aleonard@uakron.edu

Anthony Leonard joins the Akron Zips ahead of the 2025 season.

A former starting linebacker at West Virginia with coaching experience at several schools in the Northeast, Leonard joins the Zips after a season at PennWest California (PA).

Leonard served as the defensive line coach this spring at Monmouth (N.J.) following three seasons as the defensive line coach/run-game coordinator/recruiting coordinator at Fordham (N.Y.). Additionally, he served five years within the PSAC as an assistant coach at IUP following time as a coach at West Virginia Wesleyan and WVU.

At Fordham, Leonard helped lead the program to three-consecutive winning seasons with an appearance in the NCAA FCS Championships in 2022. The Rams ranked second in the Patriot League in scoring defense and rushing defense last year while featuring a pair of all-league defensive lineman, including Matt Jaworski who led the team and ranked second in the conference with 13.5 TFL and 9.0 sacks. In 2022, Fordham earned a berth to the NCAA FCS Championships for the first time in eight years and finished with 9-3 overall record. Defensive lineman Jonathan Coste received first-team all-conference status after totaling 7.0 TFL and 4.5 sacks, while Jaworski led the team with 5.0 sacks in his first year as a defensive lineman.

Leonard served as the defensive line coach at IUP from 2016-20 and helped the Crimson Hawks amass a 41-8 overall record with three appearances in the NCAA Playoffs. In 2017, IUP captured the PSAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the first time since 1999. Leonard helped mentor a pair of three-time All-PSAC West defensive linemen in Deandre Easterling and Dondrea Tillman. Easterling and Tillman are tied for fourth all-time at IUP with 43.0 TFL and Tillman finished with the most career sacks in over two decades at 30.0, fourth-most in program history.

A native of McKeesport, Leonard started his coaching career as the defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator at West Virginia Wesleyan in 2013 before returning to WVU as a defensive graduate assistant the following year under former head coach Dana Holgorsen. He worked with linebackers while with the Mountaineers, which played in the Liberty Bowl (2014) and Cactus Bowl (2015) during his tenure. Leonard helped mentor All-Big 12 first-team linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, who played seven years in the NFL.

Leonard also completed the Bill Walsh Minority Internship with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the summer of 2017 and worked annually as assistant coach with the U.S. National Team in Canton, Ohio, for multiple years with U-14 to U-19 campers.

As a player, Leonard appeared in over 40 games with the Mountaineers from 2007-10 under head coaches Rich Rodriguez and the late Bill Stewart. He finished his career with 165 tackles and played in four bowl games, including the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. Leonard received the Gridiron Gladiator Award as a senior with the award being presented annually to players who exemplify the dedication, hard work and desire set forth by the coaching staff.