Breaux Bridge – Senior receiver Isaiah LeBlanc had options when it came to deciding where he wanted to continue playing football after finishing his playing career at Breaux Bridge High School.
LeBlanc, who also played quarterback, running back and safety for the Tigers in his high school career, signed a national letter of intent with Nicholls State University on Wednesday morning after also strongly considering Northwestern State University.
“Last spring, Northwestern offered me (a scholarship), and I’ve been visiting Northwestern,” LeBlanc said. “Recently, Nicholls offered me, so I went up there a few times. I liked the atmosphere. I like the coaches. I feel like I can bond with them and the players, so I just overall liked the school. I feel comfortable (there).”
A few other schools showed interest in LeBlanc, but he said Nicholls and Northwestern showed the most interest.
BBHS head football coach Tyler Pierce said he expects LeBlanc to thrive once he concentrates on playing just one position. LeBlanc also played basketball and ran track in high school.
“I think the biggest thing that’s going to benefit him is just being able to focus on one position,” Pierce said. “So him just focusing as a receiver and not as a backup quarterback, a free safety, a corner(back), everything like that, as I’ve been telling anybody who’s asked about him is that he’s so good at what he does that when he really kind of fine tunes it and can just focus in, that’s going to be his biggest benefit.
“He has all the other intangibles. It’s just being the complete wide receiver that I know he wants to be.”
LeBlanc will be a receiver for the Colonels in Thibodaux.
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“I’m hoping to play Year 1,” LeBlanc said. “So I just need to keep my head down, keep working and keep grinding and go in there and get it done.”
“He does (have the ability to play right away),” his coach said. “I think what’s going to benefit him is his overall IQ of the game from being a quarterback, being a receiver, from an X (a receiver lined up on the line of scrimmage) to a Z (a receiver lined up off the line of scrimmage to the tight end side) to you name it as far as within the offense, and a running back even at one point. I think his overall knowledge is going to help him have success early. If you’ve only been a receiver and only know one thing, sometimes it’s hard to connect those things until maybe your sophomore or junior year of college.”
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound wideout said he would like to eventually play in the NFL, and perhaps earn a degree in kinesiology. He hasn’t made his mind up yet on a major to study in college, but carries a 3.4 grade point average.
“After college, hopefully the league, but if not, I’m still thinking about my major,” LeBlanc said.
“We’re going to miss him,” Pierce said. “He’s driven and he’s got a passion for football. You hate to see those guys leave your campus, but we just want to see what he does. We’re going to pull for him from Breaux Bridge all the way to Thibodaux for all of the success he’s going to have there at Nicholls.”
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